EU dairy exports accelerate in October amid import contraction

In October 2025, overall EU dairy exports increased strongly, rising by 8.01%, equivalent to approximately 211 million kilo in liquid milk equivalent (LME). This represents a solid expansion in total export volumes compared with the same month last year and highlights the continued competitiveness of EU pricing on international markets.Despite the overall growth, several product groups recorded weaker performances. Exports of WMP mixtures, caseinates, lactose, butter, anhydrous milk fat (AMF), cream, yoghurt, and condensed milk all declined during the month. This pattern points to a relatively uncompetitive environment for high-protein and high-fat dairy products. EU Exports October 2025 Product October '24 October '25 ∆ ∆% SMP 45.012 71.489 26.477 58,82% WMP 15.087 13.893 -1.194 -7,91% Whey 58.993 61.878 2.885 4,89% Products of Natural milk constituents n.e.s. 10.381 7.777 -2.604 -25,08% WPC80/WPI's 4.948 5.116 168 3,40% Casein 4.449 7.750 3.301 74,20% Caseinates 2.473 2.099 -374 -15,12% MPC 2.030 2.313 283 13,94% Lactose 19.931 18.380 -1.551 -7,78% FFMP 36.749 41.232 4.483 12,20% I/F 42.437 42.820 383 0,90% Cheese 122.334 126.380 4.046 3,31% Butter 23.386 23.098 -288 -1,23% AMF 2.969 2.213 -756 -25,46% Cream 25.157 19.105 -6.052 -24,06% Yoghurt 32.507 32.324 -183 -0,56% Fermented milk 18.509 19.494 985 5,32% Condensed 31.519 28.066 -3.453 -10,96% Milk 75.681 78.938 3.257 4,30% By the end of October 2025, year-to-date export performance for the European Union showed a clear improvement compared with year-to-date figures through September. Export volumes shifted from -0.40% in September to +0.46% by October, although this still corresponded to a net decline of 124 million kilo in LME terms compared with the same period last year. EU Exports YTD October Product YTD October '24 YTD October '25 ∆ ∆% SMP 612.661 664.408 51.747 8,45% WMP 181.495 142.536 -38.959 -21,47% Whey 616.849 626.369 9.520 1,54% Products of Natural milk constituents n.e.s. 88.326 82.308 -6.018 -6,81% WPC80/WPI's 45.985 45.981 -4 -0,01% Casein 47.337 55.111 7.774 16,42% Caseinates 21.575 17.777 -3.798 -17,60% MPC 21.507 23.235 1.728 8,03% Lactose 220.212 200.078 -20.134 -9,14% FFMP 334.027 340.305 6.278 1,88% I/F 401.222 393.600 -7.622 -1,90% Cheese 1.156.428 1.166.746 10.318 0,89% Butter 204.297 205.018 721 0,35% AMF 22.935 19.534 -3.401 -14,83% Cream 230.333 196.949 -33.384 -14,49% Yoghurt 279.787 296.140 16.353 5,84% Fermented milk 176.311 199.984 23.673 13,43% Condensed 270.798 239.407 -31.391 -11,59% Milk 775.091 1.016.587 241.496 31,16% The improvement was largely driven by very competitive price levels for several key dairy commodities within the EU. In contrast, persistently high prices for butter, AMF, cream, and other fat-rich products continued to undermine the global competitiveness of EU exports in these categories, prompting buyers to increasingly source from alternative suppliers offering more attractive pricing.On the import side, volumes declined sharply in October 2025, falling by -15.72%, or approximately 51 million kilo in LME. This marked a significant deterioration compared with September 2025, when imports decreased by -5.30%, indicating a notable slowdown in trade activity. Nearly all product categories contributed to the decline, except for whey, I/F, cream, liquid whey, fermented milk, and condensed milk. EU Imports October '25 Product October '24 October '25 ∆ ∆% SMP 2.606 2.357 -249 -9,55% WMP 1.403 149 -1.254 -89,38% Whey 3.765 3.946 181 4,81% WPC80/WPI's 3.032 1.998 -1.034 -34,10% Casein 925 869 -56 -6,05% Caseinates 119 76 -43 -36,13% MPC 1.416 1.083 -333 -23,52% Lactose 3.419 3.360 -59 -1,73% I/F 371 420 49 13,21% Cheese 17.304 16.083 -1.221 -7,06% Butter 1.495 947 -548 -36,66% AMF 2.342 2.052 -290 -12,38% Cream 2.369 5.584 3.215 135,71% Conc. Liq whey 2.307 3.910 1.603 69,48% Yoghurt 1.096 894 -202 -18,43% Fermented 1.671 2.029 358 21,42% Condensed 3.615 3.985 370 10,24% Milk 60.529 23.550 -36.979 -61,09% Year-to-date import growth strengthened further over the course of the autumn. By September, year-to-date imports were up by +7.09%, equivalent to an increase of around 213 million kilo in LME compared with the same period last year. Performance through October showed an accelerated pace of growth, reaching +7.77%, or approximately +250 million kilo in LME. EU Imports YTD October '25 Product YTD October '24 YTD October '25 ∆ ∆% SMP 34.795 38.382 3.587 10,31% WMP 14.658 15.937 1.279 8,73% Whey 39.037 38.349 -688 -1,76% WPC80/WPI's 30.231 36.380 6.149 20,34% Casein 10.280 8.377 -1.903 -18,51% Caseinates 580 964 384 66,21% MPC 13.804 12.453 -1.351 -9,79% Lactose 39.470 26.746 -12.724 -32,24% I/F 3.207 3.656 449 14,00% Cheese 154.483 162.930 8.447 5,47% Butter 10.219 25.311 15.092 147,69% AMF 19.321 32.667 13.346 69,08% Cream 20.428 39.475 19.047 93,24% Conc. Liq whey 24.091 26.227 2.136 8,87% Yoghurt 10.490 10.313 -177 -1,69% Fermented 28.441 29.113 672 2,36% Condensed 32.410 45.238 12.828 39,58% Milk 650.194 593.184 -57.010 -8,77% At present, estimated theoretical stocks within the European Union amount to around 2.86 billion kilo in LME terms. This represents an increase of 29.05% since the beginning of the year and corresponds to approximately 2.34% of total milk production year-to-date through October.