Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) has accepted seven requests for export assistance from Dairy Farmers of America, Darigold and United Dairymen of Arizona to sell 734,139 pounds (333 metric tons) of Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese; 352,740 pounds (160 metric tons) of butter; and 44,082 pounds (20 metric tons) of anhydrous milk fat (AMF) to customers in Asia, Central America and the Middle East. The product will be delivered September through December 2012.
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In 2012, CWT has assisted member cooperatives in making export sales of Cheddar, Monterey Jack and Gouda cheese totaling 79.1 million pounds, butter totaling 56.7 million pounds, and AMF totaling 123,459 pounds, to 34 countries on four continents. On a butterfat basis, the milk equivalent of these exports is 1.969 billion pounds, or the same as the annual milk production of 93,700 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.

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.

09.04.2012