Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) member cooperatives accepted 11 offers of export assistance from CWT that helped them capture sales contracts for 1.270 million pounds (576 metric tons) of Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese, 1.118 million pounds (507 metric tons) of butter, and 546,747 pounds (248 metric tons) of whole milk powder. The product is going to customers in Asia, the Middle East, and South America and will be delivered from May through September 2020.
CWT-assisted member cooperative export sales contracts for 2020 total 17.346 million pounds of American-type cheeses, 5.758 million pounds of butter (82% milkfat), 1.960 million pounds of anhydrous milkfat, 2.477 million pounds of cream cheese and 18.428 million pounds of whole milk powder. The product is going to 24 countries in six regions. These sales are the equivalent of 497 million pounds of milk on a milkfat basis.
Assisting CWT members in moving dairy products overseas through the Export Assistance program is critical during the challenging times U.S. dairy farmers and cooperatives are facing. The Export Assistance program helps in strengthening and maintaining the value of dairy products that directly impact producers’ milk price. The program is helping member cooperatives grow and maintain world market share for U.S dairy products and is a significant factor in maintaining the total demand for U.S. dairy products and the demand for U.S. farm milk.
Dairy product and related milk volume amounts reflect current contracts for delivery, not completed export volumes. CWT pays export assistance to bidders only when export and delivery of the product is verified by required documentation.
All dairy farmers and dairy cooperatives should invest in CWT. Membership information is available on the CWT website.
The Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) Export Assistance program is funded by voluntary contributions from dairy cooperatives and individual dairy farmers. The money raised by their investment is being used to strengthen and stabilize the dairy farmers’ milk prices and margins. For more information about CWT, visit www.cwt.coop
