Canadian dairy imports rebound in February, while export growth slows down

Canadian exports recorded a marginal increase in January, rising by 0.98% or 0.66 million kilo. This marks a sharp slowdown compared to the previous month, when exports grew by 12.41%, equivalent to 8.8 million kilo LME.Several product categories posted negative results, including whey powder, modified whey, milk constituents, cheese, butter, liquid milk, and condensed products. Canadian exports February Product 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% SMP 1216 1289 73 6.00% WMP 13 151 138 1061.54% WPC 2139 2258 119 5.56% Whey powder 393 384 -9 -2.29% Mod whey (permeate) 1887 1397 -490 -25.97% Milk constituents 1037 537 -500 -48.22% Lactose 1021 1734 713 69.83% WPI/WPC80 104 173 69 66.35% Butter milk 51 69 18 35.29% Cheese 871 555 -316 -36.28% Butter 116 91 -25 -21.55% Butteroil 5 50 45 900.00% Milk constituents 1498 968 -530 -35.38% Cream 131 292 161 122.90% Yogurt 2632 3841 1,209 45.93% Condensed 143 95 -48 -33.57% Year-to-date (YTD) exports through February have remained relatively strong, largely supported by the solid performance in January. YTD February exports stand at +5.98%, representing an increase of approximately 1 million kilo LME. Canadian exports YTD February Product 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% SMP 2359 2136 -223 -9.45% WMP 31 152 121 390.32% WPC 4311 5004 693 16.08% Whey powder 688 1378 690 100.29% Mod whey (permeate) 4138 4214 76 1.84% Milk constituents 1738 1067 -671 -38.61% Lactose 2299 2809 510 22.18% WPI/WPC80 107 173 66 61.68% Butter milk 192 106 -86 -44.79% Cheese 2008 1362 -646 -32.17% Butter 173 200 27 15.61% Butteroil 77 119 42 54.55% Milk constituents 2570 2072 -498 -19.38% Cream 252 592 340 134.92% Yogurt 5122 7192 2,070 40.41% Condensed 221 182 -39 -17.65% On the import side, Canadian volumes began to recover in February following a decline in January, when imports fell by 0.70%, or 8.9 million kilo LME. In February, imports increased by 5.88%, equivalent to 6.1 million kilo LME. Canadian imports February Product 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% SMP 209 277 68 32.54% WMP 247 209 -38 -15.38% Whey powder 214 617 403 188.32% WPC 880 724 -156 -17.73% Mod whey (permeate) 2050 2004 -46 -2.24% MPC 1557 2903 1,346 86.45% Lactose 576 292 -284 -49.31% Milk constituents 912 642 -270 -29.61% Casein 141 241 100 70.92% Caseinates 1137 124 -1,013 -89.09% WPI/WPI80 936 869 -67 -7.16% Cheese 4214 4369 155 3.68% Butter 2854 2855 1 0.04% Butteroil 131 493 362 276.34% Cream 287 190 -97 -33.80% Milk 5475 5401 -74 -1.35% Interestingly, the rise in imports coincides with two consecutive months of declining milk production. YTD February imports stand at +5.88%, or +6.1 million kilo LME. Canadian imports YTD February Product 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% SMP 515 457 -58 -11.26% WMP 421 475 54 12.83% Whey powder 391 1234 843 215.60% WPC 1509 1464 -45 -2.98% Mod whey (permeate) 4007 5105 1,098 27.40% MPC 3033 4977 1,944 64.09% Lactose 963 739 -224 -23.26% Milk constituents 1894 984 -910 -48.05% Casein 183 574 391 213.66% Caseinates 158 227 69 43.67% WPI/WPI80 2057 1623 -434 -21.10% Cheese 8216 8015 -201 -2.45% Butter 7844 5753 -2,091 -26.66% Butteroil 931 830 -101 -10.85% Cream 347 404 57 16.43% Milk 11124 11945 821 7.38% Over the same period, milk production has slightly decreased, with YTD February output at -0.2%, equivalent to a decline of 32 thousand kilo of milk. Canadian milk production - YTD February Month 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% January 8,260,874,000 8,244,737,000 -16,137,000 -0.20% February 8,245,129,504 8,229,015,357 -16,114,147 -0.20% YTD February 16,506,003,504 16,473,752,357 -32,251,147 -0.20%