Germany: Dairy farmers produced just under 2.5bn litres of milk in February, which is almost 4% higher than last year. However, deteriorating weather conditions saw the pace of milk supply growth slow from the 5% growth recorded in January.

The UK: Beef production for March fell by 3% year on year to 76,700t, according to the AHDB. Despite the fall in March production, UK beef production for the first quarter of 2018 (Jan-Mar) is up 4% year on year to 230,500t.

Brazil: Corn exports are forecast to fall by 3m tonnes for the 2018/19 season to 30m tonnes. The decline in corn exports is due to greater domestic demand from the country’s ethanol industry and loss of transport infrastructure to booming soya bean shipments.

China: Chinese dairy imports slowed in February. WMP imports fell 11% year on year to 48,000t, while whey imports fell 8% to just over 37,000t. SMP imports were also down 11% to 18,100t. The only upside was imports of infant formula, which increased 18% year on year to 18,500t.