ITHACA, N.Y. — It’s one thing that isn’t melting because of global warming: the international butter market. This year’s record high temperatures, especially in Eastern Europe and Russia, has led to cool profit margins for butter exporters in the U.S., said dairy policy expert Mark Stephenson, presenting a paper recently at Cornell’s annual Agribusiness Economic Outlook Conference.
“Excessive heat in those areas caused widespread drought and crop failure, and milk production in those regions suffered as well,” he said. “Russia imported a significant amount of butter — much of it from the U.S. — to make up for a shortfall in their production.”
Factors
That, combined with an overall short supply — commercial stocks of butter have reached some of the lowest levels since 2001 — led to dramatic increases in butter prices, he said. The year also saw the largest growth in cheese production since 2006, Stephenson said, thanks to a drop in export demand elsewhere.
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