Overall, the value of imported milk increased by 37.3% for all importer countries since 2017 when import purchases of milk were valued at $29.8 billion.
Year over year, international purchases of milk appreciated by 4.4% from $31.4 billion during 2020.
The world’s 5 biggest markets for imported milk are mainland China, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and Italy. Collectively, those 5 countries bought well over one third (37.3%) of milk imported worldwide during 2021.
From a continental perspective, Asian countries imported the highest dollar worth of milk during 2021 with purchases costing $12.2 billion or 46% of the global total. In second place were European importers at 34.9% while another 9.8% worth of the world’s imported milk was delivered to Africa.
Smaller percentages arrived in Latin America (4.2%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, North America (3.9%) then Oceania (2%) led by Australia, New Zealand and French Polynesia.
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.
Separated out the overall statistics, unsweetened milk imports under HTS prefix 0401 amounted to $10.3 billion (31.4% of the global total) while sweetened milk items under code 0402 cost $22.5 billion (68.6%).
Milk: Top 15 Importer Countries
Below are the 15 countries that imported the highest dollar value worth of milk during 2021, including both sweetened and unsweetened varieties.
- China: US$6.1 billion (18.6% of total milk imports)
- Germany: $2.1 billion (6.5%)
- Netherlands: $1.5 billion (4.6%)
- Belgium: $1.45 billion (4.4%)
- Italy: $1.03 billion (3.2%)
- Mexico: $1.03 billion (3.1%)
- Algeria: $1 billion (3.1%)
- Hong Kong: $909.4 million (2.8%)
- Indonesia: $859.4 million (2.6%)
- France: $839.4 million (2.6%)
- United Arab Emirates: $721 million (2.2%)
- Saudi Arabia: $718.2 million (2.2%)
- Malaysia: $661.6 million (2%)
- Philippines: $628 million (1.9%)
- Singapore: $563.5 million (1.7%)
By value, the listed 15 countries purchased 61.5% of all milk imports in 2021.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing markets for milk since 2017 were: mainland China (up 96.4%), Indonesia (up 68.3%), Mexico (up 34.4%) and the Philippines (up 31.3%).
Those countries that posted declines in their imported milk purchases were led by: Hong Kong (down -36.4%), United Arab Emirates (down -31.7%), Algeria (down -19.2%) and Saudi Arabia (down -8.5%).
Milk: All Importer Countries in 2021
The 100 key milk importers showcased in the following automated database represent 96.9% of globally imported milk purchased in 2021.
| Rank | Importer | Milk Imports (US$) | 2017-21 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | China | $6,072,441,000 | +96.4% |
| 2. | Germany | $2,132,243,000 | +6.1% |
| 3. | Netherlands | $1,503,371,000 | +30.8% |
| 4. | Belgium | $1,452,302,000 | +0.4% |
| 5. | Italy | $1,033,434,000 | -7.4% |
| 6. | Mexico | $1,030,542,000 | +34.4% |
| 7. | Algeria | $1,001,537,000 | -19.2% |
| 8. | Hong Kong | $909,432,000 | -36.4% |
| 9. | Indonesia | $859,434,000 | +68.3% |
| 10. | France | $839,425,000 | -7.8% |
| 11. | United Arab Emirates | $720,950,000 | -31.7% |
| 12. | Saudi Arabia | $718,212,000 | -8.5% |
| 13. | Malaysia | $661,631,000 | +30.6% |
| 14. | Philippines | $628,008,000 | +31.3% |
| 15. | Singapore | $563,495,000 | +23.7% |
| 16. | Vietnam | $560,348,000 | +43.9% |
| 17. | Russia | $518,855,000 | -29.6% |
| 18. | Poland | $491,196,000 | +43.6% |
| 19. | Nigeria | $465,727,000 | +16.9% |
| 20. | Thailand | $460,575,000 | +38.5% |
| 21. | United Kingdom | $450,581,000 | +4% |
| 22. | Bangladesh | $426,639,000 | +31.1% |
| 23. | Taiwan | $385,704,000 | +34.1% |
| 24. | Spain | $343,393,000 | +8.1% |
| 25. | Ireland | $336,270,000 | -7.9% |
| 26. | Oman | $283,719,000 | -20.6% |
| 27. | Sri Lanka | $280,396,000 | -5.2% |
| 28. | Egypt | $263,120,000 | +40.6% |
| 29. | Lithuania | $255,264,000 | +36.2% |
| 30. | Libya | $252,071,000 | +26.3% |
| 31. | Brazil | $246,426,000 | -26% |
| 32. | Australia | $234,084,000 | +57.1% |
| 33. | Greece | $230,848,000 | -41.3% |
| 34. | Peru | $210,748,000 | +84.9% |
| 35. | Kuwait | $196,584,000 | -21.2% |
| 36. | Romania | $186,059,000 | +33.7% |
| 37. | South Korea | $186,027,000 | +36.1% |
| 38. | Yemen | $173,382,000 | +76.1% |
| 39. | United States | $166,390,000 | +27.7% |
| 40. | Denmark | $159,654,000 | +62.9% |
| 41. | Dominican Republic | $158,557,000 | +42.4% |
| 42. | Austria | $154,467,000 | -4.6% |
| 43. | Colombia | $135,009,000 | +90.9% |
| 44. | Croatia | $128,859,000 | +15.7% |
| 45. | Slovakia | $117,114,000 | +9.4% |
| 46. | Bulgaria | $111,441,000 | +14.7% |
| 47. | Kazakhstan | $110,548,000 | -5% |
| 48. | Portugal | $109,535,000 | +23.4% |
| 49. | Guatemala | $102,784,000 | +17.8% |
| 50. | Sweden | $99,214,000 | -26.5% |
| 51. | Ghana | $97,743,000 | +64.4% |
| 52. | Hungary | $92,300,000 | +6.6% |
| 53. | Latvia | $87,509,000 | 0% |
| 54. | Czech Republic | $87,138,000 | +24% |
| 55. | Angola | $83,309,000 | +36.9% |
| 56. | Mauritania | $82,896,000 | +9.4% |
| 57. | Japan | $79,829,000 | -43.7% |
| 58. | Kenya | $79,352,000 | -20.5% |
| 59. | Jordan | $78,650,000 | -32.9% |
| 60. | Chile | $78,639,000 | 0% |
| 61. | Ivory Coast | $77,851,000 | +55.3% |
| 62. | South Africa | $75,535,000 | +22.3% |
| 63. | El Salvador | $74,368,000 | +74.5% |
| 64. | Cuba | $70,639,000 | -60.7% |
| 65. | Qatar | $68,744,000 | -61.7% |
| 66. | Canada | $68,103,000 | +56.4% |
| 67. | Mauritius | $65,489,000 | +8.1% |
| 68. | Bahrain | $63,612,000 | -29.4% |
| 69. | New Zealand | $58,496,000 | +91% |
| 70. | Myanmar | $55,010,000 | +14.6% |
| 71. | Pakistan | $53,813,000 | -60.2% |
| 72. | Lebanon | $53,498,000 | 0% |
| 73. | Iraq | $52,523,000 | -88.9% |
| 74. | Luxembourg | $51,963,000 | +27.2% |
| 75. | Cameroon | $47,657,000 | +15.1% |
| 76. | Senegal | $46,469,000 | +17.1% |
| 77. | Slovenia | $43,987,000 | -4.7% |
| 78. | Morocco | $42,469,000 | +105.1% |
| 79. | Cambodia | $38,091,000 | +54.4% |
| 80. | Serbia | $37,390,000 | +80.7% |
| 81. | Israel | $36,613,000 | +22% |
| 82. | Honduras | $36,155,000 | +100.5% |
| 83. | Fiji | $35,019,000 | +18.8% |
| 84. | Switzerland | $34,316,000 | +12.8% |
| 85. | Trinidad/Tobago | $33,766,000 | -27.6% |
| 86. | Ukraine | $33,593,000 | +544.4% |
| 87. | Botswana | $33,336,000 | +6.7% |
| 88. | Somalia | $33,238,000 | -80.2% |
| 89. | Maldives | $32,592,000 | +34.6% |
| 90. | Panama | $31,310,000 | -18.7% |
| 91. | Mali | $30,133,000 | -11.7% |
| 92. | Guyana | $29,691,000 | +24.8% |
| 93. | Georgia | $29,592,000 | +8.8% |
| 94. | Albania | $28,105,000 | +323.3% |
| 95. | Syria | $26,943,000 | -61.5% |
| 96. | Estonia | $24,968,000 | 0% |
| 97. | Sudan | $23,861,000 | -70.3% |
| 98. | Gabon | $23,756,000 | -25.8% |
| 99. | Togo | $23,721,000 | +29.8% |
| 100. | Armenia | $23,600,000 | +37.1% |
Among the listed 100 geographies, the fastest-growing markets for milk since 2017 were: Ukraine (up 544.4%), Albania (up 323.3%), Morocco (up 105.1%), Honduras (up 100.5%), mainland China (up 96.4%) and New Zealand (up 91%).
Over the 5-year period, the worst decliners in imported milk purchases were: Iraq (down -88.9%), Somalia (down -80.2%), Sudan (down -70.3%), Qatar (down -61.7%), Syria (down -61.5%) then Cuba (down -60.7%).
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 2020 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 June 14, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on June 14, 2022
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on June 14, 2022
Wikipedia, Category:Dairy products companies by country. Accessed on June 14, 2022
Wikipedia, Dairy. Accessed on June 14, 2022
