Netherlands – milk production rises in July

Milk production in the Netherlands for the month of July stood at just over 1.1bn litres, which is up 1% on the same month last year. This brings Dutch milk production for the first seven months of 2020 to a cumulative 8bn litres, which is more than 2% ahead of the same period last year.

US – weaker beef imports forecast for 2021

The USDA is forecasting that beef imports to the US market will fall by 7% in 2021. In its latest supply and demand update, the USDA said beef imports by the US will be just under 1.5m tonnes this year, but that this figure will fall by 7% to less than 1.4m tonnes of beef next year.

China – beef imports fall to lowest level since March

Chinese beef imports for the month of August dropped to their lowest level since the global outbreak of COVID-19 in March. China imported 150,000t of beef in August, which is the lowest volume of beef imported since March, when 135,000t were imported.

South America – strong soya beans export forecast

The USDA is forecasting strong exports of soya beans from South America this year due to increased production. Brazilian exports of soya beans are forecast to rise to 133m tonnes alone. Meanwhile, dry weather means Argentinian wheat production is likely to fall below 20m tonnes this year.