EU dairy exports decline sharply in March

This is a revised version of the report originally published on 26 May. The updated version includes data for Milk Protein Concentrate (MPC), Infant Formula (I/F), and Fat-Filled Milk Powder, which were not yet available at the time of the original publication on Insights. The inclusion of these additional commodities has also affected both the monthly and year-to-date (YTD) results.In March 2026, overall EU dairy exports declined significantly, falling by 13.24%, equivalent to approximately 342 million kilo of Liquid Milk Equivalent (LME). This follows a strong export performance in February, when exports increased by 6.30%, or 129 million kilo LME. 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% MPC 2,653 3,138 485 18.28% Lactose 25,724 13,603 -12,121 -47.12% FFMP 29,524 26,967 -2,557 -8.66% I/F 40,241 30,477 -9,764 -24.26% 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% In March, only five commodity groups recorded higher export volumes compared with the previous year: casein, caseinates, butter, yoghurt, and milk.By the end of March 2026, the EU's YTD export performance had turned negative after five consecutive months of growth. Export volumes moved from growth of 4.68% in February to a decline of 0.64% in March, equivalent to approximately 49 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% MPC 6,320 8,326 2,006 31.74% Lactose 64,339 52,038 -12,301 -19.12% FFMP 84,347 95,914 11,567 13.71% I/F 120,470 103,028 -17,442 -14.48% 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 continue to influence global trade flows and market dynamics.For the third consecutive month, EU dairy import volumes declined in March 2026, falling by 22.08%, equivalent to approximately 80 million kilo LME. The largest decreases were recorded for whole milk powder (WMP), WPC80/WPI, anhydrous milk fat (AMF), and condensed milk. 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% MPC 1,244 862 -382 -30.71% I/F 184 230 46 25.00% 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% As a result, YTD imports weakened further in March, declining by 8.95% compared with the same period last year. This represents a reduction of approximately 92 million kilo LME. 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% MPC 3,682 3,893 211 5.73% I/F 885 663 -222 -25.08% 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 dairy stocks within the European Union stand at approximately 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 primarily driven by higher milk production combined with weakening export performance. At the same time, import volumes have continued to decline, further contributing to stock accumulation within the EU.