Milk powders drove Chinese dairy import increases, growing by around half compared with the same month last year, according to official statistics compiled by dairy trading firm FCStone.

Imports of whole milk powder were up by 57.2%, while shipments of skimmed milk powder and infant formula grew by 45.4%.

This is a substantial recovery for WMP after a fall in Chinese imports of the commodity in May.

Butter and anhydrous milk fat were up 32.1% on June 2016, which means dairy fat imports so far this year are now ahead of the first half of last year.

Chinese cheese imports increased by 24.9% year on year last month, while whey shipments were up by 24.9%.

All commodities saw Chinese imports well above three-year averages for June, and nearly double in the case of infant formula and cheese.

The main origin countries of shipments to China were New Zealand for WMP, SMP and cheese; the Netherlands for infant formula; and the US for whey.

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