February 22, 2008

Wisconsin's 2007 dairy exports more than double on record prices

Wisconsin state reaped robust sales in its dairy exports, increasing by 131 percent, from US$84.7 million to US$195.8 million, local officials said Wednesday.

The growth was propelled by record prices for dairy products which were dictated by the global demand, Robin Engel, a state spokeswoman said.

Nationally, the value of dairy exports jumped 61 percent.

Wisconsin exported 99.5 million pounds of whey valued at a record US$79.8 million and 21.3 million pounds of cheese with a record value of US$75 million.

Overall, the agricultural exports of the state ranked fourth at just under US$2.1 billion, up 45 percent from the previous year.

Stronger agricultural export values were attributed to growing consumer demand in Canada, Mexico and Asia for high-end food and quality livestock genetics, Governor Jim Doyle said.

Dried distillers grains, a byproduct of the ethanol industry used as a high-protein livestock feed, reaped US$19.2 million in 2007 from US$6 million in 2006, jumping by 245 percent.

Joshua Morby, executive director of the Wisconsin Bio Industry Alliance, a group of businesses, environmental groups and other statewide and local organizations, said the strong demand for DDGS was buoyed by a growing demand in Asia.