Canadian dairy exports rebound amid a lower milk supply in April

Canadian dairy exports recorded a strong performance in April, increasing by 9.06%, or 6.17 million kilo LME, compared to the previous year.Several commodities posted weaker results, including WPC, whey powder, milk constituents, lactose, cheese, butter, milk, and condensed milk. In contrast, permeate and yoghurt recorded extraordinary growth during the month. Canada dairy exports - April Product 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% SMP 1,416 1,466 50 3.53% WMP 13 25 12 92.31% WPC 2,139 2,062 -77 -3.60% Whey powder 393 1,732 1,339 -2.29% Mod Whey ( Permeate) 1,887 4,285 2,398 127.08% milk contituents 1,037 271 -766 -73.87% Lactose 1,021 -1,041 -2,062 -201.96% WPI/WPC80 0 117 117 Butter milk 51 83 32 35.29% Cheese 871 469 -402 -46.15% Butter 116 55 -61 -52.59% Butteroil 5 5 0 0.00% Milk 1,498 1,414 -84 -5.61% Cream 131 300 169 129.01% Yoghurt 2,632 4,051 1,419 53.91% Condensed 143 41 -102 -71.33% Despite the strong monthly performance, cumulative exports through April moved into negative territory, largely reflecting the country's disappointing milk production. Year-to-date exports stood at -1.50%, or 4.34 million kilo LME, while year-to-date milk production declined by 0.34%, or 11 million kilo. Canada dairy exports - YTD April Product 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% SMP 5,194 4,491 -703 -13.53% WMP 103 205 102 99.03% WPC 9,213 8,595 -618 -6.71% Whey powder 1,148 3,657 2,509 218.55% Mod Whey ( Permeate) 9,932 11,315 1,383 13.92% milk contituents 2,824 1,793 -1,031 -36.51% Lactose 5,087 2,855 -2,232 -43.88% WPI/WPC80 231 292 61 26.41% Butter milk 193 406 213 110.36% Cheese 3,471 2,344 -1,127 -32.47% Butter 428 364 -64 -14.95% Butteroil 152 157 5 3.29% Milk 5,715 4,460 -1,255 -21.96% Cream 786 1,226 440 55.98% Yoghurt 10,916 15,791 4,875 44.66% Condensed 266 278 12 4.51% Canada remains one of the few major dairy-producing countries globally to report negative milk production growth, limiting the availability of exportable volumes. Canada milk production Month 2025 2026 ∆% ∆ January 826,087,400 824,473,700 -0.20% -1,613,700 February 748,362,200 747,690,600 -0.09% -671,600 March 833,015,800 829,329,000 -0.44% -3,686,800 April 808,337,200 803,314,100 -0.62% -5,023,100 YTD April 3,215,802,600 3,204,807,400 -0.34% -10,995,200 Canadian imports also recorded a very strong increase in April, likely reflecting the same supply constraints affecting exports. Import volumes rose by 34.07%, or 32 million kilo LME, compared to the previous year. Canada dairy imports - April Product 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% SMP 189 356 167 88.36% WMP 100 298 198 198.00% Whey Powder 427 616 189 44.26% WPC's 413 1,022 609 147.46% Whey modified, nes 1,952 2,331 379 19.42% MPC 1,126 3,141 2,015 178.95% Lactose 421 490 69 16.39% milk contituents 380 489 109 28.68% Casein 164 301 137 83.54% Caseinates 83 145 62 74.70% WPI/WPC 80 746 1,177 431 57.77% Cheese 4,875 4,736 -139 -2.85% Butter 2,902 2,798 -104 -3.58% Butter oil 644 566 -78 -12.11% Cream 724 420 -304 -41.99% Milk 5,906 7,512 1,606 27.19% Year-to-date imports through April increased by 9.08%, or 42 million kilo LME. The strongest growth was observed in whey and whey-derived products, while fat-based products continued to underperform. Canada dairy imports - YTD April Product 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% SMP 1,184 1,156 -28 -2.36% WMP 756 982 226 29.89% Whey Powder 1,000 2,471 1,471 147.10% WPC's 2,623 3,459 836 31.87% Whey modified, nes 7,848 9,289 1,441 18.36% MPC 5,620 11,122 5,502 97.90% Lactose 2,273 1,421 -852 -37.48% milk contituents 3,351 2,001 -1,350 -40.29% Casein 619 1,070 451 72.86% Caseinates 513 542 29 5.65% WPI/WPC 80 3,531 3,620 89 2.52% Cheese 18,694 12,948 -5,746 -30.74% Butter 15,523 11,519 -4,004 -25.79% Butter oil 2,242 1,506 -736 -32.83% Cream 1243 1165 -78 -6.28% Milk 22,877 26,641 3,764 16.45% Apart from WMP, all fat-based categories recorded declines compared to the previous year.