Strong global demand for U.S. Dairy’s diverse portfolio of delicious, nutritious and sustainably produced products helped drive exports to new records in 2021, both in terms of volume and value. U.S. dairy export volume last year increased 10% over 2020 to more than 2.3 million metric tons (MT) milk solid equivalent. Value rose 18% to US$7.75 billion. Export volume in 2021 was equivalent to more than 17% of U.S. milk produced last year, also an all-time high.

This tremendous growth, which came in the face of an ongoing pandemic and global supply chain challenges, continues a long-term upward trajectory that reflects the industry’s investments and unwavering commitment to export customers.

Here are some of 2021’s highlights:

• The top five export markets in 2021 were Mexico, Southeast Asia, Canada, China and South America. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, South Korea, Japan, Central America and Australia-New Zealand round out the top ten. Double-digit shipment value gains were recorded in nine of these top ten destinations, the lone exception being a 6% decrease to Australia-New Zealand.

• The United States set annual export records in cheese, nonfat dry milk/skim milk powder (NFDM/SMP), whey, lactose, and fluid milk and cream. U.S. cheese shipments topped 400,000 MT for the first time and whey surpassed 600,000 MT for the first time. NFDM/SMP fell just shy of 900,000 MT, topping out at 892,528 MT.

• Mexico accounted for more than a quarter of total U.S. cheese exports in 2021 and 38% of U.S. NFDM/SMP shipments. U.S. cheese sales to Mexico set a record, rising 13% and exceeding 100,000 MT for the first time. U.S. NFDM/SMP sales to Mexico jumped 18% to 337,846 MT, second highest in history.

• The U.S. shipped nearly US$1.4 billion worth of products to Southeast Asia in 2021, an increase of 11% over the previous year. Southeast Asia accounted for 36% of U.S. NFDM/SMP exports, running a close second to Mexico.

• U.S. whey exports grew 10% to 613,944 MT in 2021, driven primarily by China, which accounted for 44% of total whey volume. Vietnam, South Korea and Mexico recorded strong double-digit increases as well.

• U.S. cheese exports jumped 14% in 2021 to 404,675 MT, led by strong demand from Latin America. Shipments to Central America soared 53% and the additional 12,117 MT U.S. suppliers shipped there last year represents the largest cheese export gain to any major market. Exports to South America jumped 33%, while shipments to Mexico grew 13%.

• Total U.S. exports to the MENA region soared in 2021 across product categories: butterfat +154%, cheese +39%, NFDM/SMP +51% and whey products +20%.

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