CWT Assists with 4.6M Pounds of Cheese Exports

By CnAgri2012-08-28 19:52:24 Print

Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) has accepted 14 requests for export assistance from Dairy Farmers of America and Foremost Farms to sell 4.581 million pounds (2,078 metric tons) of Cheddar and Gouda cheese to customers in Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and the South Pacific. The product will be delivered September 2012 through February 2013.

In 2012, CWT has assisted member cooperatives in making export sales of Cheddar, Monterey Jack and Gouda cheese totaling 78.3 million pounds, and butter and anhydrous milk fat totaling 56.4 million pounds (adjusted for cancellations), to 33 countries on four continents. On a butterfat basis, the milk equivalent of these exports is 1.953 billion pounds, or the same as the annual milk production of 93,000 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.