American milkfat export to the EU is decreasing

The sudden and strong increase in American milkfat exports to Europe is gradually decreasing. However, exports remain many times higher than the total milkfat export to the EU in 2024 at least until October. This is evident from the latest export data from the US Dairy Export Council (USDEC). In October, 1,655 tons of American butter and butter oil were sent to the EU, particularly to the Netherlands. During the first 10 months of last year, over 12,000 tons of American milkfat went to Europe. In comparison, in all of 2024, it was only 306 tons, nearly 40 times less. Canada remains the largest butter importer from the US, but Europe suddenly comes in second place. Source: USDECThe strongly increased flow of American milk fat to Europe has two causes. First, the price difference. American products are much cheaper than the European offerings. That situation still persists. The second cause is the changed trade relationship between the US and the EU, in which there are fewer mutual barriers due to the actions of American President Donald Trump. The American product is not suitable as a retail product due to its different composition and also a difference in quality. Therefore, it is not found in supermarkets, but it is well accepted by various large industrial processors. The same applies to AMF/butter oil. A large part of the American butter and butter oil enters the EU without having to pay much in import duties. This is not due to Trump, but because the product enters the EU under the 'inward processing regime', where an import and export volume are sett off against eachother, resulting in no import taking place (from the perspective of the regulations). Due to this 'fiction', it is also difficult to obtain hard data on volumes. The fact that the regular butter price in the US is significantly lower than in the EU does not prevent tens of thousands of tons of high-quality Irish butter from still going to the US. American consumers remain willing to pay a little extra for this.