CWT Supports 138.2 Million Pounds of Dairy Exports in 2022

Year-end tallies indicate that Cooperatives Working Together (CWT)-assisted sales rose in 2022, as the program did its part in supporting a record year for U.S. dairy exports.

Member cooperatives in 2022 secured 695 contracts, adding 98.0 million pounds of American-type cheeses, 657,000 pounds of butter, 30.7 million pounds of whole milk powder and 8.8 million pounds of cream cheese to CWT-assisted sales. In milk equivalent, this is equal to 1.212 billion pounds of milk on a milkfat basis. On a product volume basis, this is equal to 138.2 million pounds – up 6% (+7.9 million pounds) from 2021. Product destinations include Asia, Central America, the Caribbean, Europe, Middle East-North Africa, Oceania, and South America.

CWT provides a means to move domestic dairy products to overseas markets by helping to overcome U.S. dairy’s trade disadvantages supporting dairy-product exports critical to the viability of dairy farmers and their cooperatives across the country. Whether or not a cooperative is actively engaged in exporting cheese, butter, anhydrous milkfat, cream cheese, or whole milk powder, moving products into world markets is essential.

The amounts of dairy products and related milk volumes reflect current contracts for delivery, not completed export volumes. CWT will pay export assistance to the bidders only when export and delivery of the product is verified by the submission of the required documentation.

CWT-Assisted Dairy Product Export Sales Top 10 Million Pounds in April

In April, CWT members secured 46 contracts to sell 2.7 million pounds of American-type cheese, 1.1 million pounds of butter, 3.4 million pounds of anhydrous milkfat (AMF), 2.3 million pounds of whole milk powder (WMP), and 1.1 million pounds of cream cheese. These products are going to customers in Asia, Central and South America, the Middle East, North Africa, and Oceania. They will be shipped April through September 2021.

These sales bring the total 2021 CWT-assisted dairy product exports to 14.5 million pounds of cheese, 9.9 million pounds of butter, 7.1 million pounds of anhydrous milkfat, 15.7 million pounds of whole milk powder, and 5.5 million pounds of cream cheese. Member cooperatives have captured sales contracts that will move overseas the equivalent of 706.8 million pounds of milk in 2021.

As dairy farmers work to recover from a challenging 2020, doing what is necessary to strengthen and maintain milk prices is a must. The key for both dairy farmers and dairy cooperatives in 2021 is dairy exports. CWT provides a means to move domestic dairy products to overseas markets by helping to overcome certain disadvantages such as the domestic/global price gap and shipping costs.

The amounts of dairy products and related milk volumes reflect current contracts for delivery, not completed export volumes. CWT will pay export assistance to the bidders only when export and delivery of the product is verified by the submission of the required documentation.

All cooperatives and dairy farmers are encouraged to add their support to this important program. Membership forms are available at www.cwt.coop/membership.