Argentina’s milk production declined 0.9% YOY to 923m litres in January. It was the first monthly contraction since July 2019, reflecting bad weather conditions locally and high prior year comparables. With higher milk supplies in 2021, processors focused on cheese and WMP production, with increases of 9.4% YOY (or 40,000t) and 9.8% YOY (or 21,000t) respectively. Late in the year, cheese output growth slowed, while WMP was patchy and rose 39.6% YOY in December.

WMP stocks were reported at 33,646t at the end of December, slightly down from November. According to the USDA’s reports of spot export quotes, South America is currently the cheapest WMP origin on the global market at US$3,725/t, nearly US$1,513/t cheaper than EU-27 and US$606/t cheaper than New Zealand.