Overall, the value of globally exported butter declined by an average -14.1% for all exporting countries since 2016 when butter shipments were valued at $5 billion. From 2019 to 2020, butter exports appreciated by 28.1%.
The 5 biggest exporters of this dairy commodity are Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Germany and Belgium. Collectively, that cohort of exporters sold roughly two-thirds (65.1%) of globally exported butter during 2020.
Among continents, suppliers in Europe sold the highest dollar worth of exported butter during 2020 with shipments valued at $5 billion or over three-quarters (78.3%) of the global total. In second place were New Zealand and Australia in Oceania at 16.6%.
Smaller percentages came from shippers in Latin America (2%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, Asia (1.6%), North America (1.4%) and Africa (0.2%).
For research purposes, the 6-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for butter is 040510. That code prefix excludes dehydrated butter and ghee. The term ghee means clarified butter (fat) made from the milk of a buffalo or cow and is commonly used in South Asian cooking.
Butter Exports by Country
Countries
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of butter during 2020.
- Ireland: US$1.11 billion (17.3% of total butter exports)
- Netherlands: $1.05 billion (16.5%)
- New Zealand: $1 billion (15.7%)
- Germany: $539.5 million (8.4%)
- Belgium: $457.7 million (7.2%)
- France: $423.5 million (6.6%)
- Belarus: $336.4 million (5.3%)
- Denmark: $263.1 million (4.1%)
- Poland: $214.5 million (3.4%)
- Finland: $147.5 million (2.3%)
- United Kingdom: $147.2 million (2.3%)
- United States: $86.3 million (1.4%)
- Italy: $68.2 million (1.1%)
- Argentina: $63 million (1%)
- Portugal: $54.9 million (0.9%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 93.4% of globally exported butter in 2020.
Among the top exporters, there was a pair of countries that enjoyed increases from 2019 to 2020. These winners were Argentina (up 23.1%) and Italy (up 18%).
Those countries that posted declines in their international sales of butter were led by: United Kingdom (down -28.2%), Belgium (down -21.7%), New Zealand (down -20.7%), United States (down -15.6%) and Germany (down -14.0%).
Advantages
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for butter during 2020. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the surplus between the value of each country’s exported butter and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- Ireland: US$1.03 billion (net export surplus down -14% since 2019)
- New Zealand: $1 billion (down -20.6%)
- Netherlands: $419.7 million (down -8.4%)
- Belarus: $335.7 million (down -10.9%)
- Denmark: $216.7 million (down -4%)
- Poland: $157.6 million (down -14.4%)
- Finland: $144.9 million (down -7.6%)
- Belgium: $96.9 million (down -33.8%)
- Argentina: $62.7 million (up 26.7%)
- Uruguay: $42 million (down -27.7%)
- Portugal: $38.8 million (down -3.3%)
- India: $20.3 million (down -80.9%)
- Kyrgyzstan: $16.6 million (up 5.8%)
- Lithuania: $9.8 million (reversing a -$1.3 million deficit in 2019)
- Ukraine: $7.6 million (down -86.8%)
Ireland and New Zealand generated the highest surpluses in the international trade of butter. In turn, these positive cashflows confirm both countries’ strong competitive advantages for this specific product category.
Opportunities
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for butter during 2020. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the deficit between the value of each country’s imported butter purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- Russia: -US$485.4 million (net export deficit down -12.5% since 2019)
- China: -$395.1 million (up 23.2%)
- France: -$297.7 million (down -34.2%)
- United States: -$190.6 million (up 0.4%)
- Saudi Arabia: -$168.4 million (up 35.1%)
- Germany: -$139.8 million (up 96.2%)
- United Kingdom: -$116.4 million (up 0.3%)
- Egypt: -$105 million (up 17.5%)
- Australia: -$96.6 million (up 5%)
- Czech Republic: -$90.4 million (up 3%)
- Japan: -$88 million (down -31.7%)
- Canada: -$81.1 million (down -18.7%)
- Taiwan: -$79.8 million (down -16.6%)
- Azerbaijan: -$72.7 million (up 34.8%)
- South Korea: -$70.7 million (up 9.1%)
The Russian Federation incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of butter. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights Russia’s competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for butter-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful demand.
Companies
Butter Exporting Companies
Below are global butter-producing cooperatives and multi-national dairy companies. Shown within parenthesis is the city and country where the headquarters for each business is located.
- Arla Foods (Viby, Denmark)
- Fonterra (Auckland, New Zealand)
- Lactalis (Laval, France)
- Müller (Fischach, Germany)
- Parmalat (Collecchio, Italy)
- Zott (Mertingen,Germany)
Searchable List of Butter Exporting Countries in 2020
The 108 countries showcased in the automated database below accounted for all butter exported during 2020.
| Rank | Exporter | Butter Exports (US$) | 2019-20 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Ireland | $1,106,212,000 | -9.1% |
| 2. | Netherlands | $1,053,779,000 | -4% |
| 3. | New Zealand | $1,005,777,000 | -20.7% |
| 4. | Germany | $539,537,000 | -14% |
| 5. | Belgium | $457,700,000 | -21.7% |
| 6. | France | $423,495,000 | -5.2% |
| 7. | Belarus | $336,388,000 | -10.8% |
| 8. | Denmark | $263,085,000 | -7.6% |
| 9. | Poland | $214,537,000 | -11.3% |
| 10. | Finland | $147,478,000 | -7.8% |
| 11. | United Kingdom | $147,180,000 | -28.2% |
| 12. | United States | $86,270,000 | -15.6% |
| 13. | Italy | $68,199,000 | +18% |
| 14. | Argentina | $62,953,000 | +23.1% |
| 15. | Portugal | $54,940,000 | -4.9% |
| 16. | Australia | $54,619,000 | -11.2% |
| 17. | Uruguay | $43,896,000 | -29.7% |
| 18. | Ukraine | $41,403,000 | -38.7% |
| 19. | Spain | $30,831,000 | -36.8% |
| 20. | Lithuania | $28,461,000 | +45.6% |
| 21. | India | $22,762,000 | -79% |
| 22. | Austria | $20,371,000 | -14.4% |
| 23. | Saudi Arabia | $19,667,000 | +39.4% |
| 24. | Kyrgyzstan | $16,966,000 | +6.4% |
| 25. | Russia | $12,482,000 | +99.3% |
| 26. | Sweden | $9,186,000 | +31.2% |
| 27. | Turkey | $9,134,000 | -58.7% |
| 28. | Czech Republic | $9,073,000 | -55.5% |
| 29. | South Africa | $7,473,000 | +9.6% |
| 30. | Costa Rica | $7,045,000 | +26.3% |
| 31. | Singapore | $6,240,000 | -45% |
| 32. | Kazakhstan | $5,802,000 | -49.6% |
| 33. | Malaysia | $5,734,000 | +13.4% |
| 34. | Hungary | $5,592,000 | +401.5% |
| 35. | Luxembourg | $5,544,000 | -21.9% |
| 36. | Slovakia | $5,230,000 | +8% |
| 37. | Estonia | $5,145,000 | +43.8% |
| 38. | Hong Kong | $4,468,000 | -35.6% |
| 39. | Switzerland | $4,382,000 | +48.1% |
| 40. | Croatia | $3,882,000 | -9% |
| 41. | Latvia | $3,869,000 | +29.8% |
| 42. | Colombia | $3,731,000 | +223.9% |
| 43. | China | $3,663,000 | -45.4% |
| 44. | Paraguay | $2,925,000 | +37.6% |
| 45. | Greece | $2,117,000 | +34.2% |
| 46. | Bulgaria | $1,848,000 | -27.3% |
| 47. | Azerbaijan | $1,719,000 | -77.7% |
| 48. | Romania | $1,646,000 | +41.4% |
| 49. | Brazil | $1,430,000 | -23.2% |
| 50. | Honduras | $1,266,000 | +2.8% |
| 51. | Serbia | $1,182,000 | -6.5% |
| 52. | Thailand | $1,019,000 | -39.2% |
| 53. | Bolivia | $991,000 | +33.2% |
| 54. | Iceland | $822,000 | +5.4% |
| 55. | United Arab Emirates | $816,000 | -98.7% |
| 56. | Yemen | $787,000 | +15640% |
| 57. | Uganda | $783,000 | -33.4% |
| 58. | Ghana | $749,000 | +1053% |
| 59. | South Korea | $501,000 | +102.8% |
| 60. | Philippines | $488,000 | +1009% |
| 61. | Kuwait | $443,000 | +371.3% |
| 62. | Slovenia | $442,000 | -0.7% |
| 63. | Iran | $431,000 | -46.9% |
| 64. | Georgia | $426,000 | -35% |
| 65. | Jordan | $342,000 | +332.9% |
| 66. | Peru | $261,000 | +6425% |
| 67. | Egypt | $258,000 | -35.2% |
| 68. | Armenia | $236,000 | -26% |
| 69. | Japan | $164,000 | +21.5% |
| 70. | Indonesia | $157,000 | -25.6% |
| 71. | Lebanon | $148,000 | +221.7% |
| 72. | Uzbekistan | $146,000 | -34.5% |
| 73. | El Salvador | $135,000 | +14.4% |
| 74. | Canada | $127,000 | -22.1% |
| 75. | Pakistan | $119,000 | +40% |
| 76. | Norway | $109,000 | -22.1% |
| 77. | Syrian Arab Republic | $88,000 | +69.2% |
| 78. | Kenya | $86,000 | +258.3% |
| 79. | Dominican Republic | $85,000 | -39.3% |
| 80. | Chile | $83,000 | +8200% |
| 81. | Namibia | $81,000 | -33.1% |
| 82. | Bangladesh | $67,000 | +1575% |
| 83. | Senegal | $65,000 | -60.1% |
| 84. | Rwanda | $64,000 | +30.6% |
| 85. | Vietnam | $58,000 | -51.3% |
| 86. | Iraq | $58,000 | 0% |
| 87. | Ivory Coast | $54,000 | +440% |
| 88. | Moldova | $48,000 | 0% |
| 89. | North Macedonia | $35,000 | -84.6% |
| 90. | Ethiopia | $29,000 | +11.5% |
| 91. | Togo | $25,000 | +78.6% |
| 92. | Zambia | $21,000 | 0% |
| 93. | Morocco | $14,000 | -53.3% |
| 94. | Mozambique | $13,000 | +550% |
| 95. | Taiwan | $12,000 | -73.9% |
| 96. | Brunei Darussalam | $12,000 | -67.6% |
| 97. | Benin | $7,000 | +133.3% |
| 98. | Tanzania | $5,000 | 0% |
| 99. | Zimbabwe | $4,000 | 0% |
| 100. | Panama | $4,000 | -69.2% |
| 101. | Botswana | $4,000 | -96.9% |
| 102. | Sri Lanka | $4,000 | 0% |
| 103. | Democr. Rep. Congo | $3,000 | -40% |
| 104. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $3,000 | -97.3% |
| 105. | Bermuda | $2,000 | -66.7% |
| 106. | Cameroon | $1,000 | 0% |
| 107. | Mongolia | $1,000 | 0% |
| 108. | Trinidad/Tobago | $1,000 | 0% |
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of the columns. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that 2019 data is unavailable.
See also Top Milk Exporting Countries, Cheese Exports by Country and Top Yogurt Exporters
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on August 14, 2021
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on August 14, 2021
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on August 14, 2021
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on August 14, 2021
Wikipedia, Category:Multinational dairy companies . Accessed on August 14, 2021
