Overall, the value of imported milk increased by 26.4% for all importer countries since 2018 when import purchases of milk were valued at $30.05 billion.
Year over year, international purchases of milk appreciated by 9.6% compared to $34.7 billion during 2021.
The world’s 5 biggest import markets for milk are mainland China, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and Algeria. Collectively, those 5 countries bought well over one third (37.4%) of spending on milk imported worldwide during 2022.
From a continental perspective, Asian countries imported the highest dollar worth of milk during 2022 with purchases costing $16.1 billion or 42.4% of the global total. In second place were European importers at 36.4% while another 10.4% worth of the world’s imported milk was delivered to Africa.
Smaller percentages arrived in Latin America (5%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, North America (4.6%) and Oceania (1.1%) led by Australia, Fiji and New Zealand.
The metrics below combine subtotals for two 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefixes for milk. Specifically, those prefixes are 0401 for unsweetened milk and 0402 for milk concentrated or containing added sugar or other sweetening ingredients.
Separating out the overall statistics, unsweetened milk imports under HTS prefix 0401 amounted to $11.8 billion (31.1% of the global total) while sweetened milk items under code 0402 cost $26.2 billion (68.9%).
Milk: Top 15 Importer Countries
Below are the 15 countries that imported the highest dollar value worth of milk during 2022, including both sweetened and unsweetened varieties.
- China: US$6.1 billion (16.1% of total milk imports)
- Germany: $2.8 billion (7.3%)
- Netherlands: $1.9 billion (4.9%)
- Belgium: $1.8 billion (4.7%)
- Algeria: $1.7 billion (4.4%)
- Mexico: $1.4 billion (3.8%)
- Italy: $1.33 billion (3.5%)
- Indonesia: $1.31 billion (3.4%)
- France: $1.1 billion (2.8%)
- Philippines: $904.1 million (2.4%)
- Malaysia: $814.5 million (2.1%)
- Hong Kong: $704.3 million (1.9%)
- Poland: $663.4 million (1.7%)
- United Arab Emirates: $633.4 million (1.7%)
- Singapore: $614.5 million (1.6%)
By value, the listed 15 countries purchased 62.4% of all milk imports in 2022.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing markets for milk since 2018 were: Indonesia (up 148.8%), Mexico (up 92%), mainland China (up 80.1%) and Poland (up 78.5%).
A pair of major buying countries posted declines in their imported milk purchases namely Hong Kong (down -57.3% from 2021) and the United Arab Emirates (down -40.6%).
Milk: All Importer Countries in 2022
The 100 key milk importers showcased in the following automated database represent 96.9% of globally imported milk purchased in 2022.
Rank | Importer | Milk Imports | 2018-22 |
---|---|---|---|
1. | China | $6,104,551,000 | +80.1% |
2. | Germany | $2,788,562,000 | +55.6% |
3. | Netherlands | $1,861,806,000 | +51% |
4. | Belgium | $1,792,969,000 | +22.3% |
5. | Algeria | $1,662,972,000 | +50% |
6. | Mexico | $1,448,784,000 | +92% |
7. | Italy | $1,333,222,000 | +16.8% |
8. | Indonesia | $1,307,211,000 | +148.8% |
9. | France | $1,066,590,000 | +17.2% |
10. | Philippines | $904,122,000 | +78.1% |
11. | Malaysia | $814,495,000 | +55.8% |
12. | Hong Kong | $704,321,000 | -57.3% |
13. | Poland | $663,370,000 | +78.5% |
14. | United Arab Emirates | $633,378,000 | -40.6% |
15. | Singapore | $614,496,000 | +31.4% |
16. | Saudi Arabia | $578,716,000 | -21.6% |
17. | Vietnam | $575,722,000 | +42% |
18. | Thailand | $571,102,000 | +63.1% |
19. | United Kingdom | $529,952,000 | +9.9% |
20. | Ireland | $482,648,000 | +18.6% |
21. | Bangladesh | $475,283,000 | +34% |
22. | Brazil | $440,383,000 | -38.1% |
23. | Taiwan | $437,682,000 | +51.2% |
24. | Spain | $437,649,000 | +44.9% |
25. | Greece | $408,036,000 | +57.5% |
26. | Lithuania | $350,651,000 | +73.9% |
27. | Nigeria | $346,144,000 | +23% |
28. | Oman | $339,545,000 | -18.9% |
29. | Egypt | $339,411,000 | +40.6% |
30. | Australia | $275,875,000 | +52.5% |
31. | South Korea | $272,435,000 | +70.7% |
32. | Peru | $252,287,000 | +72.9% |
33. | Romania | $239,482,000 | +86.9% |
34. | United States | $230,394,000 | +74.4% |
35. | Colombia | $216,158,000 | +219.3% |
36. | Sri Lanka | $209,999,000 | 0% |
37. | Austria | $204,785,000 | +7.6% |
38. | Dominican Republic | $202,194,000 | +43.2% |
39. | Kuwait | $195,089,000 | -20.7% |
40. | Denmark | $187,178,000 | +43.8% |
41. | Libya | $184,228,000 | -18.8% |
42. | Croatia | $178,176,000 | +54.5% |
43. | Yemen | $170,837,000 | +13.1% |
44. | Slovakia | $152,570,000 | +46.1% |
45. | Kazakhstan | $150,626,000 | +55.8% |
46. | Portugal | $137,462,000 | +40.2% |
47. | Guatemala | $133,388,000 | +36.8% |
48. | Bulgaria | $129,526,000 | +53.3% |
49. | Qatar | $127,655,000 | -11% |
50. | Sweden | $118,920,000 | -13.6% |
51. | Latvia | $115,862,000 | +84.9% |
52. | Morocco | $111,562,000 | +338.9% |
53. | Cuba | $111,102,000 | -29.2% |
54. | Kenya | $108,932,000 | +6.8% |
55. | Hungary | $99,584,000 | +9.2% |
56. | Bahrain | $98,361,000 | +2% |
57. | Angola | $98,046,000 | -37.3% |
58. | Japan | $96,995,000 | -16% |
59. | Jordan | $94,589,000 | -17% |
60. | Czech Republic | $92,146,000 | +58% |
61. | Mauritius | $86,408,000 | +27.7% |
62. | Mauritania | $81,802,000 | -9.7% |
63. | Ghana | $80,825,000 | +55.3% |
64. | Ivory Coast | $80,809,000 | +75% |
65. | El Salvador | $80,184,000 | +66.5% |
66. | Serbia | $74,209,000 | +121.9% |
67. | Canada | $71,446,000 | +95.2% |
68. | Chile | $68,006,000 | +11.2% |
69. | Honduras | $67,299,000 | +80.6% |
70. | South Africa | $65,440,000 | +42.5% |
71. | Lebanon | $63,493,000 | -48.6% |
72. | Armenia | $61,350,000 | +328.1% |
73. | Sudan | $61,138,000 | -15.2% |
74. | Senegal | $56,227,000 | 0% |
75. | Trinidad/Tobago | $54,037,000 | 0% |
76. | Israel | $50,473,000 | 0% |
77. | Pakistan | $49,365,000 | 0% |
78. | Luxembourg | $48,406,000 | +26.5% |
79. | Slovenia | $47,135,000 | -2.9% |
80. | Georgia | $46,074,000 | +93.5% |
81. | Cameroon | $44,474,000 | -14% |
82. | Panama | $42,811,000 | +44.2% |
83. | Fiji | $39,651,000 | +16.2% |
84. | Switzerland | $37,850,000 | +24.3% |
85. | New Zealand | $36,641,000 | +5.2% |
86. | Democr. Rep. Congo | $35,512,000 | +119.4% |
87. | Estonia | $35,109,000 | +46.1% |
88. | Maldives | $32,716,000 | +19.3% |
89. | Moldova | $31,588,000 | +151.6% |
90. | Myanmar | $31,416,000 | -21% |
91. | Somalia | $31,185,000 | -80.6% |
92. | Gabon | $31,033,000 | -17.7% |
93. | Russia | $30,926,000 | -93.7% |
94. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $30,902,000 | +41.7% |
95. | Guyana | $30,749,000 | +11.5% |
96. | Botswana | $30,301,000 | -6.8% |
97. | Burkina Faso | $29,448,000 | +21.6% |
98. | North Macedonia | $28,674,000 | +32.5% |
99. | Mongolia | $25,838,000 | +73.2% |
100. | Togo | $25,648,000 | +39% |
Among the listed 100 geographies, the fastest-growing markets for milk since 2018 were: Morocco (up 338.9%), Armenia (up 328.1%), Colombia (up 219.3%), Moldova (up 151.6%), Indonesia (up 148.8%) and Serbia (up 121.9%).
Over the 5-year period, the worst decliners in imported milk purchases were recorded by buyers in: Russia (down -93.7% from 2021), Somalia (down -80.6%) then Hong Kong (down -57.3%).
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the listed columns above. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that no 2021 data is available.
Major International Milk Suppliers
Below are global milk-processing companies that represent established players engaged in the international milk trade. Many of these business entities are cooperatives. The home country for each company is shown within parenthesis.
- Almarai (Saudi Arabia)
- Arla Foods (Denmark)
- Borden Milk Products (United States)
- Canberra Milk (Australia)
- First Milk (United Kingdom)
- Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited (New Zealand)
- FrieslandCampina (Netherlands)
- La Serenísima (Argentina)
- Lactalis (France)
- Zott (Germany)
See also Top Milk Exporting Countries, Fresh or Frozen Beef Imports by Country, Natural Honey Imports by Country and Most Valuable Red Meat Import Markets by Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Imports – Commodities. Accessed on August 9, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on August 9, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on August 9, 2023
Wikipedia, Category:Dairy products companies by country. Accessed on August 9, 2023
Wikipedia, Dairy. Accessed on August 9, 2023