UK – milk production falls in January

January milk collections from dairy farms in the UK totalled 1.19bn litres, which was down almost 2% compared with the same month last year. Total milk production from the UK in 2017 came to just over 14.6bn litres last year.

China – dairy imports rise strongly in January

Chinese dairy imports increased 44% year on year to just over 371,000t. The majority of these imports is accounted for in whole milk powder (WMP), with Chinese buyers snapping up close to 140,000t last month. Infant formula imports rose 33% to 20,600t.

Argentina – beef exports rise strongly in January

Argentina exported more than 22,700t of beef cuts in January, according to data from the Argentine customs and export data. This represents a year on year increase of more than two thirds (+68%) compared to January 2017.

US – winter wheat crop facing weather concerns

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has sharply downgraded its quality rating for this seasons winter wheat crop. Dryness across the US wheat belt has seen crops suffer over the last month. US crop farmers have planted just under 33m acres in winter wheat for 2018.