MD_DA130 South America Dairy Market Overview Report 23 - Released on June 4, 2020 Currently, Brazil is one of the epicenters of the coronavirus as cases continue raising. As described by various contacts, the outlook is highly uncertain for the country's dairy industry, as there are more questions than answers about its fate. So far, the federal government of this country has not established any protocol to mitigate the spread of the virus. That said, milk farm gate prices have dropped markedly as processors’ demands for raw milk have been weak during this COVID-19 juncture. Therefore, the manufacture of dairy products has been slower than usual. The prices of cheese, yogurt and UHT milk have remained quite strong in the national spot market mainly because inventories have been reduced. In contrast to Brazil, in Argentina and Uruguay, raw milk production is improving seasonally as temperatures continue falling, boosting dairy herd comfort. Dairy processors, especially cheese makers, are paying higher milk prices to dairy farmers as milk intakes remain less than enough to meet all manufacturing needs. At this point, several plants are running at below full capacity. Cheese and milk powder exports from Argentina and Uruguay to Brazil have sharply decline in recent weeks. Therefore, processors are actively selling abroad, mainly to Algeria, to offset the demand reduction from Brazil. Information for the period May 25 - June 5, 2020, issued biweekly Published by: Dairy Market News - Madison, WI ANGEL TERAN-RAMOS, 6084228593 Email: angel.teran@usda.gov Additional Dairy Market News Information: Dairy Market News (DMN) by Phone: (608)422-8602 DMN Website: https://www.ams.usda.gov/market-news/dairy DMN MARS (My Market News): https://mymarketnews.ams.usda.gov