CWT Assists with 1.1M Pounds of Cheese, AMF Exports

By CnAgri2012-10-10 19:48:15 Print

Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) has accepted five requests for export assistance from Dairy Farmers of America and Darigold to sell 1.056 million pounds (479 metric tons) of Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese, and 4,409 pounds (2 metric tons) of anhydrous milk fat (AMF), to customers in Asia and Central America. The product will be delivered October 2012 through April 2013.

In 2012, CWT has assisted member cooperatives in making export sales of Cheddar, Monterey Jack and Gouda cheese totaling 96.9 million pounds, butter totaling 58.3 million pounds, and AMF totaling 127,868 pounds. The product will go to 34 countries on four continents. On a butterfat basis, the milk equivalent of these exports is 2.169 billion pounds, or the same as the annual milk production of 103,200 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.