Dairy Market R
Dairy Management Inc.
Vol u m e 2 5 | N o. 2
Overview
E
P
O
R
T
F ebruary 2022
D MI | NMP F
The stage is being set for 2022 to be a considerably better year than most of the last several for U.S. dairy farmers. Record exports, flat milk production, just
over half a percent milk solids production growth, and over 2 percent consumption growth made a winning combination during the fourth quarter of 2021, sending some key prices to long-time high levels at the start of this year. Meanwhile, as foreign and domestic demand increase, domestic stock levels are not burdensome, by several metrics, for most major dairy product categories.
Commercial Use of Dairy Products Domestic commercial use of milk in all dairy products in the fourth quarter of 2021 were 2 percent above a year earlier. Consumption improved in many major product categories. Export growth continued, but moderated during the fourth quarter, boosting fourth-quarter annual increase in total commercial use to just 2.2 percent.
U.S. Dairy Trade The United States exported the equivalent of 17.3 percent of domestic milk solids production during calendar year 2021, a record by this measure for any calendar year, the next highest being 16.0 percent in 2020. Both export values and volumes reached records for the year, with across-the-board gains among major categories even though some saw year-over-year declines in the fourth quarter. 2021 milk solids exports in the largest product categories were mostly up by
more than 10 percent from their average levels during the preceding eight years. Over this period, exports have been concentrating: The larger half of the product categories are contributing progressively more to the milk solids total than the bottom half. About 80 percent of U.S. butter imports during the past two years have come from Ireland, and just about the same proportion of the year-over-year increase in 2021 came from there as well. Ireland was also the second largest importer of casein into the United States during the past two years, behind New Zealand, but it didn’t increase its imports this year, as New Zealand did.
Milk Production The four-month plunge in milk production growth from May to September last year has slowed significantly. Production was basically flat year-over-year in September, and during continued on page 2
Domestic Commercial Use
Oct–Dec 2021
Oct–Dec 2020
Total Fluid Milk Products Yogurt Butter American–type Cheese All Other Cheese Total Cheese Dry Skim Milk All Products (milk equiv., milkfat basis) All Products (milk equiv., skim solids basis) All Products (milk equiv., total solids basis)
11,468 1,112 624 1,330 1,984 3,314 184 57,716 45,383 49,239
11,814 1,074 611 1,331 1,939 3,270 201 56,711 44,482 48,284
2020–2021 Change
Percent Change
-346 38 13 -1 46 44 -17 1,005 901 955
-2.9% 3.6% 2.1% -0.1% 2.4% 1.4% -8.4% 1.8% 2.0% 2.0%
(million pounds)