MADISON, Wis.—U.S. dairy exports came to a “screeching halt” in 2008 due in part to the melamine scandal in China and global financial crisis, according to a new report from the Babcock Institute for International Dairy Research and Development.
Analysts are forecasting 2009 U.S. dairy export volume to be off by 25 percent to 50 percent from 2008. This is bad news for U.S. dairy farmers who already have been hit by the lowest milk prices in six years on top of high feed costs. The report concluded that “lost exports mean more milk on the domestic market and larger cuts in the milk supply to balance supply and demand at profitable prices.”
