CWT Assists with 12.5 Million Pounds of Cheese, Powder Exports

Source: Cooperatives Working Together

Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) has accepted 8 requests for export assistance from Dairy Farmers of America, Northwest Dairy Association (Darigold) and Tillamook County Creamery Association to sell 1.210 million pounds (549 metric tons) of Cheddar and Gouda cheese and 11.255 million pounds (5,105 metric tons) of whole milk powder to customers in Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and South America. The product will be delivered September 2014 through March 2015.

Year-to-date, CWT has assisted member cooperatives in selling 85.511 million pounds of cheese, 48.188 million pounds of butter and 31.748 million pounds of whole milk powder to 43 countries on six continents. These sales are the equivalent of 2.105 billion 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 in the rapidly growing world dairy markets. This, in turn, positively impacts U.S. dairy farmers by strengthening and maintaining the value of dairy products that directly impact their milk price.

CWT will pay export assistance 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, visitwww.cwt.coop.