Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) has accepted 11 requests for export assistance from Dairy Farmers of America, Michigan Milk Producers Association, Northwest Dairy Association (Darigold), and Tillamook County Creamery Association who have contracts to sell 1.993 million pounds (904 metric tons) of Cheddar, and Monterey Jack cheese and 1.332 million pounds (604 metric tons) of whole milk powder to customers in Asia, the Middle East, and Central America. The product has been contracted for delivery in the period from April through October 2015.
Year-to-date, CWT has assisted member cooperatives who have contracts to sell 27.756 million pounds of cheese, 24.387 million pounds of butter, and 8.653 million pounds of whole milk powder to twenty two countries on five continents. The amounts of and butter in these sales contracts represent the equivalent of 868.077 million pounds of milk on a milkfat basis.
Assisting CWT members through the Export Assistance program, in the long-term, helps member cooperatives gain and maintain market share, thus expanding the demand for U.S. dairy products and the U.S. farm milk that produces them. This, in turn, positively impacts U.S. dairy farmers by strengthening and maintaining the value of dairy products that directly impact their milk price.
The amounts of cheese and related milk volumes reflect current contracts for delivery, not completed export volumes. CWT will pay export assistance to the bidders only when export and delivery of the product is verified by the submission of the required documentation.
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. 4.21.2015