Netherlands – Milk production falls again in March

Dutch milk production for March came in at 1.15bn litres, which is down almost 2.5% on the same month last year. This brings Dutch milk production for the first quarter of 2019 (Jan-Mar) to a cumulative 3.3bn litres, which is more than 3% behind the same period last year.

Brazil – maize production forecast higher in 2019

CONAB, the Brazilian grain analyst agency, has raised its estimate for Brazilian maize (corn) production in 2019 by 1.2m tonnes to 94m tonnes. Last year, Brazil produced less than 81m tonnes of maize due to the failure of its first-crop maize.

China – beef imports surge in February

In the first two months of 2019, Chinese buyers imported just over 210,000t of beef. This represents a 55% increase in imported volumes of beef compared with the same period last year. China is facing a 10m tonne shortfall in meat supply in 2019 due to its pig herd being decimated by African Swine Fever.

US – February beef exports break 80,000t mark

Beef exports from the US for the month of February are estimated at 82,000t. This brings US beef exports for the opening two months of 2019 (Jan-Feb) to just over 160,000t, which is 3% ahead of the same period last year.