The country purchased $243 million in U.S. dairy products in 2017.

Tom Vilsack, president and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council, will speak on Aug. 25 to hundreds of Chinese dairy leaders attending the China Dairy Industry Association meeting.

Don't get distracted by the headlines in 2018. The renegotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the U.S.-Korea free trade agreement will demand a lot of attention, but assuming neither of them is wiped off the board completely, growing milk supplies in the other major exporting countries will create the headwind for U.S. exports.

The U.S. Dairy Export Council selected former U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack as president and CEO, effective Feb. 1.

The U.S. industry produces large volumes of UHT milk annually, yet we have played only a minor role in serving booming Chinese consumption to date. Our research suggests that can and should change, particularly given that Chinese buyers have expressed growing interest in U.S. supply to meet spiraling demand.

Rabobank forecasts a reduction in the exportable surplus available from what it calls the “Big Seven” export regions (the EU, U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay) in the closing months of 2012 and first half of 2013. That would be the first such reductions in more than four years.