EU dairy exports growth eases up in May

In May 2026, overall EU dairy exports increased, although the result was somewhat disappointing given the increase in milk production. Exports rose by 0.91%, equivalent to an additional 24 million kilo LME, compared with a 4.35% increase, or 114 million kilo LME, recorded in April. Milk powders, excluding whey, performed well, as did butter fats. EU dairy exports - May Commodities 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% SMP 78.206 80.593 2.387 3,05% WMP 13.647 17.632 3.985 29,20% Whey 63.592 56.902 -6.690 -10,52% Products of Natural milk constituents n.e.s. 8.859 7.174 -1.685 -19,02% WPC80/WPI's 4.908 5.027 119 2,42% Casein 4.387 6.981 2.594 59,13% Caseinates 1.712 1.745 33 1,93% MPC 3.192 2.777 -415 -13,00% Lactose 21.674 16.345 -5.329 -24,59% FFMP 40.707 32.536 -8.171 -20,07% I/F 38.744 41.394 2.650 6,84% Cheese 120.471 118.704 -1.767 -1,47% Butter 20.934 30.237 9.303 44,44% AMF 2.149 3.447 1.298 60,40% Cream 20.008 19.804 -204 -1,02% Yoghurt 29.845 32.725 2.880 9,65% Fermented milk 25.584 18.344 -7.240 -28,30% Condensed 25.820 23.075 -2.745 -10,63% Milk 78.206 78.317 111 0,14% By the end of May 2026, the EU's year-to-date (YTD) export performance remained positive, although growth slowed compared with April. YTD exports were up 4% in May, compared with 5.61% in April, representing an additional 529 million kilo LME. A key factor behind this trend has been the highly competitive pricing of several dairy commodities outside the EU. EU dairy exports - YTD May Commodities 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% SMP 331.747 367.711 35.964 10,84% WMP 76.206 77.421 1.215 1,59% Whey 308.548 290.129 -18.419 -5,97% Products of Natural milk constituents n.e.s. 41.629 45.162 3.533 8,49% WPC80/WPI's 24.302 24.401 99 0,41% Casein 21.983 29.079 7.096 32,28% Caseinates 8.346 9.256 910 10,90% MPC 15.169 14.535 -634 -4,18% Lactose 106.656 93.240 -13.416 -12,58% FFMP 156.722 169.436 12.714 8,11% I/F 196.937 195.184 -1.753 -0,89% Cheese 571.291 594.813 23.522 4,12% Butter 93.838 128.279 34.441 36,70% AMF 9.682 12.914 3.232 33,38% Cream 103.189 98.596 -4.593 -4,45% Yoghurt 140.571 156.458 15.887 11,30% Fermented milk 99.914 97.994 -1.920 -1,92% Condensed 121.235 114.734 -6.501 -5,36% Milk 339.688 360.839 21.151 6,23% May 2026 marked the fifth consecutive month of declining import volumes. Imports fell by 22.00%, equivalent to 85 million kilo LME, following a decline of 17.25%, or 71 million kilo LME, in April. The largest decreases were recorded in SMP, WPC80/WPI, lactose, and butter fats. EU dairy imports - May Commodities 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% SMP 4.536 3.653 -883 -19,47% WMP 1.223 1.632 409 33,44% Whey 3.519 4.145 626 17,79% WPC80/WPI's 4.318 1.314 -3.004 -69,57% Casein 1.222 765 -457 -37,40% Caseinates 72 54 -18 -25,00% MPC 699 1.581 882 126,18% I/F 282 331 49 17,38% Lactose 2.832 848 -1.984 -70,06% Cheese 17.713 17.335 -378 -2,13% Butter 3.696 2.375 -1.321 -35,74% AMF 3.715 1.686 -2.029 -54,62% Cream 6.382 3.128 -3.254 -50,99% Conc. Liq whey 2.968 3.429 461 15,53% Yoghurt 940 1.523 583 62,02% Fermented 5.134 2.224 -2.910 -56,68% Condensed 7.250 6.822 -428 -5,90% Milk 57.983 46.873 -11.110 -19,16% On a YTD basis, imports were down 8.41% through May, representing a reduction of approximately 152 million kilo LME compared with the same period last year. This was a considerably larger decline than in April, when imports were down 5.49%, or 82 million kilo LME. EU dairy imports - YTD May Commodities 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% SMP 17.559 18.275 716 4,08% WMP 9.347 5.284 -4.063 -43,47% Whey 20.168 21.618 1.450 7,19% WPC80/WPI's 18.187 8.941 -9.246 -50,84% Casein 3.647 3.777 130 3,56% Caseinates 477 210 -267 -55,97% MPC 5.699 8.129 2.430 42,64% I/F 1.435 1.330 -105 -7,32% Lactose 17.345 12.735 -4.610 -26,58% Cheese 82.088 87.990 5.902 7,19% Butter 11.358 16.015 4.657 41,00% AMF 14.609 12.514 -2.095 -14,34% Cream 21.861 13.971 -7.890 -36,09% Conc. Liq whey 12.397 15.853 3.456 27,88% Yoghurt 4.329 5.403 1.074 24,81% Fermented 11.806 13.522 1.716 14,53% Condensed 25.060 25.174 114 0,45% Milk 347.507 274.246 -73.261 -21,08% At present, estimated theoretical LME stocks in the EU stand at approximately 4.3 billion kilo, reflecting an increase of 43.00% since the beginning of the year. The rise in stock levels is primarily driven by higher milk production. At the same time, imports have continued to decline sharply, while export growth has not been sufficient to absorb the additional milk available, resulting in higher inventories.