US dairy exports slow down in June

US dairy exports delivered weak overall results in June 2026 compared with the previous year, despite increases in several product categories. SMP exports declined by 19.05%, while WMP fell by 44.32% and modified whey by 31.23%. WPC80/WPI exports decreased by 28.15%. Categories that recorded higher export volumes in June included whey, caseinates, cheese, butter, AMF, cream, fermented products, and milk. AMF exports stood out with a particularly strong increase of 253%.Overall, June exports decreased by 3.51%, equivalent to 56 million kilo of liquid milk equivalent (LME). This represents a sharp reversal from May, when exports increased by 14.71%, equivalent to an additional 209 million kilo LME. US dairy exports June - Tons Commodity 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% SMP 59,318 48,017 -11,301 -19.05% WMP 6,433 3,582 -2,851 -44.32% Whey 17,851 25,644 7,793 43.66% Dairy blends/ mpc's 3,786 3,013 -773 -20.42% Mod. Whey 19,856 13,655 -6,201 -31.23% WPC < 80% 12,845 11,988 -857 -6.67% WPC80/WPI's 8,346 5,997 -2,349 -28.15% Casein 440 344 -96 -21.82% Caseinates 241 456 215 89.21% Lactose 43,998 35,827 -8,171 -18.57% I/F 2,033 1,842 -191 -9.39% Cheese 52,557 65,029 12,472 23.73% Butter 6,469 8,712 2,243 34.67% AMF 2,349 8,293 5,944 253.04% Cream 3,756 5,265 1,509 40.18% Fermented 7,016 7,577 561 8.00% Condensed 2,946 2,654 -292 -9.91% Milk 10,370 12,639 2,269 21.88% Year-to-date (YTD) export volumes through June were 9.54% higher, equivalent to an increase of 823 million kilo LME. This compares with YTD growth of 13.27%, or 918 million kilo LME, through May. Growth has been partially constrained by declines in several key categories, most notably SMP, dairy blends, and high-protein products such as WPC <80, WPC80/WPI, casein, caseinates, and condensed dairy products. However, gains in other dairy product categories earlier in the year have more than offset these declines, supporting overall YTD export growth. US dairy exports YTD June - Tons Commodity 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% SMP 332,322 321,769 -10,553 -3.18% WMP 18,508 21,612 3,104 16.77% Whey 96,016 145,734 49,718 51.78% Dairy blends/ mpc's 25,325 22,850 -2,475 -9.77% Mod. Whey 93,586 97,839 4,253 4.54% WPC < 80% 62,968 58,160 -4,808 -7.64% WPC80/WPI's 47,675 37,251 -10,424 -21.86% Casein 3,317 1,729 -1,588 -47.87% Caseinates 2,478 2,118 -360 -14.53% Lactose 213,318 213,472 154 0.07% I/F 12,991 9,274 -3,717 -28.61% Cheese 296,175 365,808 69,633 23.51% Butter 31,176 59,245 28,069 90.03% AMF 17,640 30,039 12,399 70.29% Cream 20,122 24,906 4,784 23.77% Fermented 34,855 42,934 8,079 23.18% Condensed 13,484 13,437 -47 -0.35% Milk 57,340 65,353 8,013 13.97% As in March through May, US dairy imports continued to increase year over year in June. Imports rose by 17.88%, equivalent to 56 million kilo LME, compared with June 2025. US dairy imports June - Tons Commodity 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% SMP 395 125 -270 -68.35% WMP 1,819 1,609 -210 -11.54% Whey 2,010 1,590 -420 -20.90% WPC <80% 2,298 2,251 -47 -2.05% WPC80/WPI's 1,381 1,299 -82 -5.94% MPC 5,829 6,681 852 14.62% Casein 3,334 2,519 -815 -24.45% Caseinates 2,195 2,365 170 7.74% Lactose 203 309 106 52.22% I/F 3,751 4,888 1,137 30.31% Cheese 14,959 17,555 2,596 17.35% Butter 2,930 7,710 4,780 163.14% AMF 1,590 1,261 -329 -20.69% Cream 5,557 7,947 2,390 43.01% Condensed 3,908 3,741 -167 -4.27% Yoghurt/Sour cream/Fermented 4,963 6,634 1,671 33.67% Milk 1,826 1,271 -555 -30.39% YTD import volumes through June also turned positive, increasing by 0.26%, or 5 million kilo LME. This compares with a decline of 3.33%, equivalent to 56 million kilo LME, through May. Despite the overall increase, declines were recorded across multiple categories, including whole milk powder, whey, WPC80/WPI, MPC, casein, lactose, infant formula, cheese, AMF, and milk. US dairy imports YTD June - Tons Commodity 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% SMP 1,460 1,956 496 33.97% WMP 13,859 9,687 -4,172 -30.10% Whey 10,983 10,441 -542 -4.93% WPC <80% 12,721 13,275 554 4.36% WPC80/WPI's 8,599 6,720 -1,879 -21.85% MPC 31,332 29,323 -2,009 -6.41% Casein 14,301 12,415 -1,886 -13.19% Caseinates 10,855 11,301 446 4.11% Lactose 1,568 1,492 -76 -4.85% I/F 34,170 25,406 -8,764 -25.65% Cheese 98,309 97,266 -1,043 -1.06% Butter 30,912 45,968 15,056 48.71% AMF 10,900 4,570 -6,330 -58.07% Cream 27,300 37,823 10,523 38.55% Condensed 24,645 25,267 622 2.52% Yoghurt/Sour cream/Fermented 30,820 39,569 8,749 28.39% Milk 12,975 10,339 -2,636 -20.32% Despite the improvement in exports, US dairy trade has done relatively little to absorb the additional milk supply. YTD through June, US milk production was 1.44 billion kilo higher than during the same period last year. Against the backdrop of strong milk production growth, it is notable that imports have continued to increase. This could indicate a mismatch between demand for specific dairy products and the composition of domestic dairy production. Milk production in the US Month 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% June 8,734,000,000 8,938,000,000 204,000,000 2.34% Total 52,458,000,000 53,899,000,000 1,441,000,000 2.75% Based on these figures, the implication is that domestic consumption decreased by approximately 447 million kilo LME, or 1.14%, during the first five months of the year. Overall, the US has succeeded in exporting approximately 57.13% of the incremental milk production.