US dairy exports outpace milk production in May

US dairy exports delivered another strong performance in May 2026 compared with the same month in 2025, despite declines in several product categories. Exports of SMP fell by 20.03%, while casein declined sharply by 32.47%. WPC80/WPI decreased by 9.91%, WMP by 13.05%, infant formula by 4.01%, and condensed milk by 34.14%.Overall, May exports increased by 14.71%, equivalent to an additional 209 million kilo of liquid milk equivalent (LME), following April's increase of 17.07%, or 231 million kilo LME. US dairy exports (tons) - May Commodity 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% SMP 62.157 49.704 -12.453 -20,03% WMP 4.806 4.179 -627 -13,05% Whey 13.518 27.453 13.935 103,08% Dairy blends/ mpc's 3.830 4.286 456 11,91% Mod. Whey 14.106 17.695 3.589 25,44% WPC < 80% 9.183 10.162 979 10,66% WPC80/WPI's 7.368 6.638 -730 -9,91% Casein 462 312 -150 -32,47% Caseinates 355 584 229 64,51% Lactose 29.560 38.672 9.112 30,83% I/F 1.920 1.843 -77 -4,01% Cheese 52.364 61.830 9.466 18,08% Butter 5.280 9.988 4.708 89,17% AMF 2.232 5.204 2.972 133,15% Cream 4.179 4.644 465 11,13% Fermented 5.854 7.406 1.552 26,51% Condensed 2.598 1.711 -887 -34,14% Milk 9.570 11.891 2.321 24,25% Year-to-date (YTD) exports through May were 13.27%, or 918 million kilo LME, higher than in the same period of 2025, up from 12.80% in April, when the increase stood at 705 million kilo LME. Export growth has been partially constrained by declines in several key categories, particularly dairy blends and high-protein products such as WPC below 80% protein, WPC80/WPI, casein, caseinates, and infant formula. Nevertheless, stronger performance across other dairy product categories has more than compensated for these declines, supporting overall export growth. US dairy exports (tons) - YTD May Commodity 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% SMP 273.194 273.753 559 0,20% WMP 13.500 18.030 4.530 33,56% Whey 78.164 120.090 41.926 53,64% Dairy blends/ mpc's 21.539 19.836 -1.703 -7,91% Mod. Whey 73.730 84.184 10.454 14,18% WPC < 80% 50.123 46.172 -3.951 -7,88% WPC80/WPI's 39.329 31.254 -8.075 -20,53% Casein 2.315 1.386 -929 -40,13% Caseinates 1.882 1.663 -219 -11,64% Lactose 159.510 169.744 10.234 6,42% I/F 10.958 7.431 -3.527 -32,19% Cheese 243.616 300.778 57.162 23,46% Butter 24.706 50.532 25.826 104,53% AMF 15.291 25.747 10.456 68,38% Cream 16.365 19.642 3.277 20,02% Fermented 27.838 35.356 7.518 27,01% Condensed 10.538 10.783 245 2,32% Milk 47.033 52.713 5.680 12,08% After returning to growth in March and April, US dairy imports continued to expand year-over-year in May, increasing by 13.44%, or 44 million kilo LME. US dairy imports (tons) - May Commodity 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% SMP 125 224 99 79,20% WMP 3.008 1.648 -1.360 -45,21% Whey 2.040 1.050 -990 -48,53% WPC <80% 2.239 2.069 -170 -7,59% WPC80/WPI's 1.439 1.153 -286 -19,87% MPC 4.668 6.402 1.734 37,15% Casein 1.518 2.671 1.153 75,96% Caseinates 2.364 2.172 -192 -8,12% Lactose 257 304 47 18,29% I/F 7.284 4.968 -2.316 -31,80% Cheese 12.508 17.894 5.386 43,06% Butter 3.361 8.740 5.379 160,04% AMF 3.369 1.368 -2.001 -59,39% Cream 5.999 7.473 1.474 24,57% Condensed 4.470 4.429 -41 -0,92% Yoghurt/Sour cream/Fermented 5.891 7.369 1.478 25,09% Milk 1.407 1.607 200 14,21% Despite this improvement, YTD imports through May remained below the previous year at -3.33%, equivalent to 55 million kilo LME. This compares with a decline of 6.67%, or 89 million kilo LME, through April. Lower import volumes were recorded across several categories, including WMP, whey, WPC80/WPI, MPC, casein, lactose, infant formula, cheese, AMF, and milk. US dairy imports (tons) - YTD May Commodity 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% SMP 1.064 1.830 766 71,99% WMP 12.039 8.078 -3.961 -32,90% Whey 8.973 8.851 -122 -1,36% WPC <80% 10.422 11.024 602 5,78% WPC80/WPI's 8.218 5.420 -2.798 -34,05% MPC 25.703 24.122 -1.581 -6,15% Casein 10.967 8.925 -2.042 -18,62% Caseinates 8.661 8.936 275 3,18% Lactose 1.366 1.183 -183 -13,40% I/F 30.419 20.518 -9.901 -32,55% Cheese 83.352 79.712 -3.640 -4,37% Butter 27.982 38.257 10.275 36,72% AMF 9.310 3.309 -6.001 -64,46% Cream 21.743 29.877 8.134 37,41% Condensed 20.736 21.525 789 3,80% Yoghurt/Sour cream/Fermented 25.857 32.936 7.079 27,38% Milk 11.149 9.068 -2.081 -18,67% Despite the strong export performance, exports have done little to reduce the impact of increasing milk supplies. Through May, US milk production was up by 1.24 billion kilo compared with the previous year. Against the backdrop of this substantial production growth, the continued increase in imports is notable and may indicate a disconnect between the types of dairy products demanded by the market and those being produced domestically. US milk production Milk Production 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% January 8.706.000.000 9.015.000.000 309.000.000 3,55% February 8.050.000.000 8.284.000.000 234.000.000 2,91% March 9.038.000.000 9.282.000.000 244.000.000 2,70% April 8.814.000.000 9.052.000.000 238.000.000 2,70% May 9.116.000.000 9.328.000.000 212.000.000 2,33% YTD 43.724.000.000 44.961.000.000 1.237.000.000 2,83% Overall, the calculations suggest that domestic consumption declined by 447 million kilo LME during the first five months of the year, equivalent to a decrease of 1.14%. Even so, the US has successfully exported nearly 74.3% of its incremental milk production during the year to date.