CWT Assists with 4.8M Pounds of Cheese, Butter Exports

By CnAgri2012-07-24 19:58:00 Print

Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) has accepted 18 requests for export assistance from Bongards Creamery, Dairy Farmers of America, Darigold and Foremost Farms to sell 4.548 million pounds (2,063 metric tons) of Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese, and 220,462 pounds (100 metric tons) of butter, to customers in Asia, Central America, North Africa and the Middle East. The product will be delivered July through December 2012.

In 2012, CWT has assisted member cooperatives in making export sales of Cheddar, Monterey Jack and Gouda cheese totaling 70.1 million pounds, and butter and anhydrous milk fat totaling 55.1 million pounds (adjusted for cancellations), to 32 countries on four continents. On a butterfat basis, the milk equivalent of these exports is 1.848 billion pounds, or the same as the annual milk production of 88,000 cows.

Assisting CWT members through the Export Assistance program positively impacts producer milk prices in the short-term by reducing inventories that overhang the market and depress cheese and butter prices. In the long-term, CWT's Export Assistance program helps member cooperatives gain and maintain market share, thus expanding the demand for U.S. dairy products and the farm milk that produces them.

CWT will pay export bonuses to the bidders only when delivery of the product is verified by the submission of the required documentation.