Butter Market Data, Standards and Trade Specifications

Editorial evidence reviewedReviewed 2026-09-10Release 2026-09-19-batch-230

Market value

$12.8B

Producing countries tracked

11

Grading systems

2

Active supply risks

5

Trade corridors

6

Latest reviewed evidence

The export and production figures below are USDA Foreign Agricultural Service forecasts published in July 2026. USDA's export table includes butteroil and anhydrous milkfat with butter, while the Codex and USDA composition and grade records define product boundaries. These are dated forecasts and standards—not current lot availability, a current physical offer or a live delivered butter price.

Major-exporter butter exports

1.071

million metric tons including butteroil and AMF · calendar year 2026 forecast

New Zealand butter production

545000

metric tons · calendar year 2026 forecast

European Union butter exports

325000

metric tons including butteroil and AMF · calendar year 2026 forecast

Codex minimum butter milkfat

80

percent by mass · CXS 279-1971 amended 2022

Codex maximum butter water

16

percent by mass · CXS 279-1971 amended 2022

USDA butter grades

3

grades AA, A and B · current USDA grade standard

Butter, butteroil, anhydrous milkfat and ghee are separate products

Codex defines butter as a water-in-oil emulsion derived exclusively from milk or milk products, with at least 80 percent milkfat, no more than 16 percent water and no more than 2 percent milk solids-not-fat. Butteroil and anhydrous milkfat remove substantially more water and non-fat solids, while ghee has its own processing, flavor and specification conventions. Salted and unsalted, sweet-cream and cultured, conventional and high-fat, bulk block and consumer-pack butter also require explicit identification. Atlas keeps those identities separate even when an aggregate trade table groups butteroil and AMF with butter.

Composition, grade, plant, lot, package and temperature travel with the butter

USDA grades butter as U.S. Grade AA, A or B using flavor, body, color and salt characteristics; grading does not replace the product's composition, microbiological, residue, packaging or destination requirements. Comparable records retain milkfat, moisture and milk-solids-not-fat results and methods, salt level, culture or process, grade and authority, color and flavor requirements, plant and lot, production and best-before dates, package, pallet and net weight, storage temperature, health and export certificates where required, and origin-destination eligibility.

Forecast totals do not determine a delivered butter price

USDA FAS's July 2026 forecast places combined exports by the listed major exporters at 1.071 million metric tons, including butteroil and anhydrous milkfat. It forecasts New Zealand butter production at 545,000 metric tons and European Union exports at 325,000 metric tons. Those dated aggregates span different products, compositions, grades, packages, origins, destinations and contract terms. A delivered price still requires a precisely defined lot, permitted current physical evidence, quantity, currency, Incoterm, destination, delivery window and information vintage.

Questions procurement teams ask

Are butter, butteroil and anhydrous milkfat interchangeable?

No. Standard butter is a water-in-oil emulsion with its own composition limits, while butteroil and anhydrous milkfat are more concentrated milkfat products. The exact identity and composition must remain attached to every observation.

What composition does the Codex butter standard specify?

CXS 279-1971 specifies at least 80 percent milkfat by mass, no more than 16 percent water and no more than 2 percent milk solids-not-fat. National requirements and contract specifications may add other conditions.

What are the USDA butter grades?

The USDA framework uses U.S. Grades AA, A and B, assessed through flavor and workmanship characteristics including body, color and salt. Grade does not replace composition, lot, package or destination requirements.

Which fields make physical butter offers comparable?

Exact butter or milkfat-product identity, milkfat, water and non-fat-solids composition and test basis, salted or unsalted, process and culture, grade and authority, color and flavor requirements, plant and lot, production and best-before dates, package and net weight, temperature regime, health and export certificates, origin, quantity, currency, Incoterm, destination, delivery window and evidence date.