EU dairy exports face a notable decline in March

In March 2026, overall EU dairy exports declined significantly, recording a decrease of 12.56%, equivalent to approximately 297 million kilo of liquid milk equivalent (LME). This marked a sharp reversal compared with February, when exports increased by 6.30%, or 129 million kilo LME.Only five product categories recorded higher export volumes in March: casein, caseinates, butter, yoghurt, and milk. EU dairy exports March Product 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% SMP 67,053 62,237 -4,816 -7.18% WMP 15,059 8,922 -6,137 -40.75% Whey 68,362 54,393 -13,969 -20.43% Products of Natural milk constituents n.e.s. 8,126 4,742 -3,384 -41.64% WPC80/WPI's 5,713 4,030 -1,683 -29.46% Casein 4,724 5,807 1,083 22.93% Caseinates 1,714 2,163 449 26.20% Lactose 25,724 13,603 -12,121 -47.12% Cheese 115,259 111,986 -3,273 -2.84% Butter 17,448 24,395 6,947 39.82% AMF 1,781 1,540 -241 -13.53% Cream 20,568 19,053 -1,515 -7.37% Yoghurt 28,033 33,448 5,415 19.32% Fermented milk 19,834 19,311 -523 -2.64% Condensed 23,423 12,246 -11,177 -47.72% Milk 74,381 76,536 2,155 2.90% By the end of March 2026, the year-to-date (YTD) export performance of the EU had turned negative after five consecutive months of growth. Export volumes shifted from growth of 4.68% in February to a decline of 0.52% in March, representing a decrease of 34 million kilo LME. EU dairy exports YTD March Product 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% SMP 186,719 197,326 10,607 5.68% WMP 47,002 38,082 -8,920 -18.98% Whey 179,536 169,700 -9,836 -5.48% Products of Natural milk constituents n.e.s. 24,634 22,340 -2,294 -9.31% WPC80/WPI's 14,568 13,353 -1,215 -8.34% Casein 12,940 15,071 2,131 16.47% Caseinates 4,536 5,314 778 17.15% Lactose 64,339 52,038 -12,301 -19.12% Cheese 333,285 336,236 2,951 0.89% Butter 51,324 68,193 16,869 32.87% AMF 5,549 5,554 5 0.09% Cream 60,817 53,799 -7,018 -11.54% Yoghurt 81,454 91,954 10,500 12.89% Fermented milk 53,708 67,872 14,164 26.37% Condensed 72,207 58,709 -13,498 -18.69% Milk 180,776 212,017 31,241 17.28% A key factor behind this development has been the highly competitive pricing of several dairy commodities outside the EU. In addition, ongoing geopolitical tensions have continued to influence global trade flows and market dynamics. In March 2026, EU dairy import volumes declined for the third consecutive month, falling by 21.98%, equivalent to 78 million kilo LME. The sharpest decreases were recorded in whole milk powder (WMP), fermented drinks, and caseinates. EU dairy imports March Product 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% SMP 3,276 2,095 -1,181 -36.05% WMP 2,066 124 -1,942 -94.00% Whey 4,992 3,303 -1,689 -33.83% WPC80/WPI's 3,471 1,467 -2,004 -57.74% Casein 683 822 139 20.35% Caseinates 91 65 -26 -28.57% Lactose 3,230 2,654 -576 -17.83% Cheese 17,078 16,489 -589 -3.45% Butter 1,893 1,273 -620 -32.75% AMF 3,460 1,544 -1,916 -55.38% Cream 4,810 3,265 -1,545 -32.12% Conc. Liq whey 2,459 3,584 1,125 45.75% Yoghurt 853 1,014 161 18.87% Fermented 2,381 5,031 2,650 111.30% Condensed 4,962 1,952 -3,010 -60.66% Milk 62,835 66,431 3,596 5.72% On a year-to-date basis, import performance weakened further to -9.27%, representing a decline of approximately 93 million kilo LME compared with the same period last year. EU dairy imports YTD March Product 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% SMP 8,841 8,638 -203 -2.30% WMP 6,589 1,355 -5,234 -79.44% Whey 13,227 8,553 -4,674 -35.34% WPC80/WPI's 9,832 5,775 -4,057 -41.26% Casein 1,775 2,133 358 20.17% Caseinates 342 138 -204 -59.65% Lactose 12,746 10,454 -2,292 -17.98% Cheese 47,519 50,564 3,045 6.41% Butter 5,238 7,731 2,493 47.59% AMF 8,280 8,823 543 6.56% Cream 10,745 7,557 -3,188 -29.67% Conc. Liq whey 6,635 8,553 1,918 28.91% Yoghurt 2,425 2,825 400 16.49% Fermented 5,268 7,909 2,641 50.13% Condensed 12,067 10,678 -1,389 -11.51% Milk 187,273 187,484 211 0.11% At present, estimated theoretical stocks within the EU stand at around 4.3 billion kilo LME. This represents an increase of 43.8% since the beginning of the year. The sharp rise in stock levels is mainly the result of increased milk production combined with weakening export volumes. At the same time, imports have continued to decline significantly.