According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Statistics Center (NASS), dairy stocks fell by 1,000 goals in April after a decrease of 17,000 goals in March.

Milk production was almost unchanged (+ 0.1%) compared with a year earlier in April after a decline of 0.6% in March. Cow productivity increased by 1% compared to the same period last year, after a slight increase by half in March.

This year began encouragingly, as sales of liquid dairy products in January fell by only 0.6% compared with a year earlier. But sales trends for liquid dairy products ended the winter quarter on a weak note: in March, sales fell by 4.7% by 2018, which was the largest monthly decline compared to last year from September last year.

The average volume of sales of liquid dairy products decreased by 2.5% compared to the same quarter in 2018.

Prices for milk intended for the cheese market (Class III) averaged $ 14.30 per centner. In the first quarter, compared with $ 13.87 a year earlier.

The cheese market was the place where most of the excitement was on the dairy market in the past three months, as the price of class III rose by almost $ 1 per cent in March and April.

Weekly quotes for cheddar cheese have declined in recent weeks, suggesting that the price of class III milk in May may not extend the recent uptrend.