China dairy imports remain weak in August

August has been the second month in a row of very weak exports with 8 out of 15 commodities booking gains. Notable volume decreases were observed in SMP, WMP, Whey, WPC80/WPI’s, Lactose, I/F and Milk. August Imports August '25 August '26 ∆ ∆% SMP 9.879 7.633 -2.246 -22,74% WMP 30.580 18.139 -12.441 -40,68% Whey 65.891 49.893 -15.998 -24,28% WPC80/WPI's 3.233 2.543 -690 -21,34% Casein 1.291 2.301 1.010 78,23% Caseinates 1.707 2.627 920 53,90% Lactose 14.789 9.580 -5.209 -35,22% I/F 19.548 17.704 -1.844 -9,43% Cheese 12.335 17.191 4.856 39,37% Butter 4.227 9.241 5.014 118,62% AMF 1.941 3.454 1.513 77,95% Cream 10.238 13.293 3.055 29,84% Yoghurt 1.465 1.645 180 12,29% Condensed 1.060 1.920 860 81,13% Milk 33.953 25.440 -8.513 -25,07% Extraordinary results were booked in Butter that rose by 119% vs the previous year. Other Fat-based products increased strongly too. The declines in Liquids were restricted to Milk. August concluded with a decrease in imports of -16,31% or -196 million kgs LME, coming from -33,74% or +499 million kgs LME in July. YTD August Imports YTD August '25 YTD August '26 ∆ ∆% SMP 163.880 130.812 -33.068 -20,18% WMP 332.155 318.925 -13.230 -3,98% Whey 462.576 417.635 -44.941 -9,72% WPC80/WPI's 25.000 22.689 -2.311 -9,24% Casein 11.384 15.990 4.606 40,46% Caseinates 15.557 15.902 345 2,22% Lactose 119.065 84.042 -35.023 -29,42% I/F 145.556 141.689 -3.867 -2,66% Cheese 129.065 152.085 23.020 17,84% Butter 72.256 84.432 12.176 16,85% AMF 27.713 30.495 2.782 10,04% Cream 173.303 178.709 5.406 3,12% Yoghurt 8.684 7.622 -1.062 -12,23% Condensed 7.747 11.205 3.458 44,64% Milk 251.520 225.306 -26.214 -10,42% The cumulative performance through August has continued to remain in negative territory. Meanwhile, certain commodity segments such as SMP, Lactose, and Yoghurt & Milk have lagged expectations and saw double digit declines.Overall, YTD August imports recorded a yoy decrease -6,61% or -735 million kgs LOME, coming from -4,98%, or -491 million kgs in July.