Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) has accepted 6 requests for export assistance from member cooperatives who have contracts to sell 47,069 pounds (21 metric tons) of Cheddar cheese, and 393,423 pounds (250 metric tons) of whole milk powder to customers in Asia, the Middle East and South America. The product has been contracted for delivery in the period from September through November 2015.

Year-to-date, CWT has assisted member cooperatives who have contracts to sell 45.359 million pounds of cheese, 28.063 million pounds of butter and 34.498 million pounds of whole milk powder to thirty-three countries on five continents. The amounts of cheese, butter and whole milk powder in these sales contracts represent the equivalent of 1.302 billion pounds of milk on a milkfat basis.

Assisting CWT members through the Export Assistance program, in the long-term, helps member cooperatives gain and maintain market share, thus expanding the demand for U.S. dairy products and the U.S. farm milk that produces them. This, in turn, positively impacts all U.S. dairy farmers by strengthening and maintaining the value of dairy products that directly impact their milk price.

The amounts of dairy products and related milk volumes reflect current contracts for delivery, not completed export volumes. CWT will pay export assistance to the bidders only when export and delivery of the product is verified by the submission of the required documentation.