European Association of Dairy Trade
GLOBAL DAIRY CONSUMPTION
IN 2017 AND BEYOND
1
In this report we look at global dairy consumption trends and developments by region, based on figures from
Global Data. The report shows the development of consumption over the years 2015, 2016, 2017 and includes
also a Global Data forecast for the year 2022, based on primary and secondary research, macro-economic
drivers, consumer data and historical performance. To put the total volumes of dairy consumption into
perspective, graphs comparing the absolute volumes with per capita dairy consumption are also included.
The following products are covered: milk, cream, butter, cheese, and yogurt (as well as fromage frais and quark
for EU15, EU13 and Other Europe). Where available, the consumption figures include both retail (“off trade”)
and food service (“on trade”). However, in many countries only retail data can be obtained. This is specified in
relation to each graph.
We have opted for a separation between EU15 (“old” Member States) and EU13 (“new” Member States) since
covering all 28 countries in one graph would be challenging and because there are some considerable
differences in consumption patterns between the two groups.
Table of contents
I. Introduction – Global consumption of dairy products ........................................................................ 2
II. Comparison of volumes & per capita dairy consumption in some key countries ................................. 3
III. EU - Consumption of dairy products .................................................................................................. 7
1) Consumption of milk in EU15, EU13 and Other European countries .......................................................8
2) Consumption of butter & spreadable fats in EU15, EU13 and Other European countries ................... 11
3) Consumption of cheese, ‘fromage frais’ & quark in EU15, EU13 and Other European countries ........ 14
4) Consumption of cream in EU15, EU13 and Other European countries ................................................ 19
5) Consumption of yogurt in EU15, EU13 and Other European countries ................................................ 22
6) Per capita consumption figures of some European countries (in kg) ................................................... 25
IV. ASIA & OCEANIA – Consumption of dairy products .......................................................................... 27
V. MIDDLE EAST-NORTH AFRICA - Consumption of dairy products ........................................................ 32
VI. AMERICAS - Consumption of dairy products .................................................................................... 37
VII. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA – Consumption of dairy products ................................................................. 42
VIII. OVERVIEW OF PER CAPITA CONSUMPTION OF DAIRY PRODUCTS .................................................... 47
1) Per capita consumption of all dairy products (kg ME/capita) in 2013 .................................................. 47
2) Per capita consumption of milk ............................................................................................................. 48
3) Per capita consumption of butter ......................................................................................................... 48
4) Per capita consumption of cheese ........................................................................................................ 49
5) Per capita consumption of SMP ............................................................................................................ 49
6) Per capita consumption of WMP ........................................................................................................... 50
IX. ANNEX: POPULATION FIGURES (FOR PER CAPITA CALCULATIONS) ................................................... 50
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I. Introduction – Global consumption of dairy products
World consumption of dairy products is poised to grow by almost 2% per year over the next decade. The global
dairy market is growing due to a combination of population growth (mainly in Asia and Africa) and increasing
per capita consumption. The latter phenomenon is true for ‘emerging dairy countries’ and is driven by several
factors such as rising incomes, a growing middle-class, increasingly western eating habits, improved
infrastructure and logistics as well as the development of modern retail and food service.
In terms of regions, growth is expected to take place mainly in (South East) Asia, Middle East and Africa, while
countries in mature regions when it comes to dairy consumption (especially Western Europe, North America
and Oceania) are expected to register only marginal growth. Needless to say, the EU and USA are of course by
far the largest dairy markets already and in the US population is still growing at a decent rate. There is however
still room for increasing per capita consumption in most eastern and central European countries (EU 13).
Overall, the potential for further increases in dairy consumption remains significant, especially in countries
where per capita consumption is still relatively low, but the rate of growth is expected to be slower than over
the last two decades. India, despite being world’s largest milk producer (if EU is not viewed as a block), still
shows quite modest per capita consumption levels. The expansion potential is considerable but the demand
will most likely be served by the domestic industry working on increasing the share of milk collected.
Apart from product availability and affordability, consumption developments are influenced by a large variety
of trends, especially in mature markets. These include demand for lactose free, GMO-free, organic and more
generally foods perceived as healthy or of a superior quality as well as vegan and dairy-free diets and the
growth of the market for “dairy alternatives”.
In many developing countries, a lion’s share of dairy consumption is liquid milk (often unprocessed), whereas
the share of drinking milk in most mature markets is relatively low and decreasing.
Use of dairy products and ingredients – scope of the report
In the EU and in other developed markets, only a part of dairy products are sold in retail for direct
consumption, while this share varies considerably depending on the product. Dairy products can be broadly
split into consumer products and ingredients for the food industry. Next to retail, food service is the second
main outlet for consumer dairy products and for food products containing dairy ingredients.
Some dairy products like cheeses and butter are both consumer products and ingredients, whereas dry dairy
products (milk powders, whey derivatives and casein(ates)) are used for further processing (except in the case
of reconstituted milk). Dairy ingredients are used in a huge number of applications (including dairy) such as
chocolate, bakery products, processed cheese, yogurt, dairy-based drinks pizza, various ready-to-eat foods,
sports nutrition and infant formula. Some dairy products are also used for feed (e.g. SMP and whey) or
technical applications (e.g. casein). The consumption data used in this report includes both retail and food
service (where available) but not the use as ingredients by the food (or feed) industry. This also explains the
lack of data for any dried dairy products.
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II. Comparison of volumes & per capita dairy consumption in some key
countries
Please note that in all the following graphs ‘off trade’ stands for retail and ‘on trade’ stands for food service.
In the following chapter (II) ‘on trade’ figures for EU15 were only available for 14 countries (not for Luxemburg)
and ‘on trade’ figures for EU13 were only available for the following 6 countries: Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary,
Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
According to this data, India consumes by far the largest volumes of drinking milk globally, followed by the
EU15 and the USA. The highest per capita consumption of liquid milk is seen in the United Arab Emirates (83,9
kg), followed by Mexico (64,1 kg) Saudi Arabia (64,2 kg) and the EU15 (64,1 kg). Some individual EU Member
States do however have considerably higher per capita consumption (see EU chapter from page 7 on).
In India around 33,2 kg of liquid milk are consumed per person. It seems however that that the informal sector
is not or only partly accounted for since Indian milk production amounts to 156 million tonnes and a majority
of that is consumed as (raw) drinking milk. It also interesting to note that almost half of the (processed?)
drinking milk is consumed in the food service sector.
The lowest per capita consumption of milk among these countries appears in the Philippines (8,9 kg), Indonesia
(8,9 kg) and China (9 kg).
4
Noteworthy is also the difference of liquid milk consumption per capita between EU15 and EU13 countries (64
kg in EU15 and 43,1 kg in EU 13).
The EU15 is by far the largest consumer of butter and spreadable fats in absolute terms as well as per person
(6,6 kg). The EU13 consumes significantly less butter(fat) in volumes but has also already quite a high per capita
consumption (5,1 kg). In volumes, EU15 is followed by the USA, EU13 and Russia. EU15 and EU13 per capita
consumption of butter & spreadable fats are followed by Russia (3,5 kg) and USA (3,2 kg).
By and large for most of the key countries butter & spreadable fats consumption takes place to around 2/3 in
retail and to around 1/3 in food service (with some deviations in Turkey, Mexico, India and China, where food
service is more important for consumption than retail).
5
The overall volumes of cheese consumed are by far the highest in the EU15 followed by USA. It is also in the
EU15 and in the USA where we can see the highest per capita consumption of cheese (17,5 kg and 12,9 kg).
The EU13 average per capita consumption of cheese is at 11,9 kg and leaves still some room for growth if the
“new” Member States are to catch up with EU15. Interestingly, Saudi Arabia’s per capita consumption is
already almost at the same level as in the USA (12,6 kg) and with 8 kg the per capita consumption of cheese is
also still quite respectable in Russia, even though volumes have undoubtedly dropped since the 2014 embargo.
In countries such as China, Indonesia or the Philippines, cheese consumption is still at its infancy but expected
to rise continuously in the future (see graph on page 29). Even a very small change in China makes a huge
difference.
In the US, food service accounts for more than half of the cheese consumption (58%). The share of food service
is also relatively high in the EU15 (32%).
6
The EU15 has the highest per capita consumption of cream (5,5 kg), which is followed by the US (4,3 kg) and
the EU13 (4,3 kg). The highest overall volumes of cream are also clearly consumed in the EU15 countries,
followed by the US.
Consumption of cream is still very low to non-existent in most countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. In
China, cream consumption has increased strongly in the past years (see page 30) and is forecasted to grow
further until 2022. However the growth takes place from a very low base at 0,1 kg per capita.
Those countries with high overall volumes of cream consumed have mostly also a higher share of cream
consumed in food service in comparison to retail (with the exception of China, where food service is the outlet
for almost all the cream consumed).
7
Yogurt is most popular in the EU15 (accounting for a vast majority of the volumes), in the Middle East (with
the UAE actually matching EU consumption per capita with 15,8kg), Turkey, EU13 and the US. With the
exception of Japan, and to a lesser extent South Korea, yogurt consumption is still extremely low in Asia but
growing fast, especially in China. The vast majority of yogurt is consumed through retail in all key countries.
III. EU - Consumption of dairy products
France and Germany are Europe’s largest milk producers and also the largest dairy markets in value terms.
Marginal population growth and large aging populations are characteristics of these two and other Western
European countries. These are saturated markets with high dairy consumption levels, meaning that demand
growth in volume terms is rather limited.
Opportunities lie in various “quality products” with certain special features (geographical indications, organic,
GMO-free etc.) as well as functional dairy products, for instance tailored to meet age-based nutritional needs,
sports nutrition. Packaging and portion sizes play a role as well as the rising trend of ‘on-the-go’ is leading to
an increased demand for convenient dairy products.
Eastern and central Europe (“new Member States”) are characterized by growing economies and an expansion
of dairy consumption rates across countries in the region.
In the graphs below, we have separated (for space reasons) EU15 and EU13 and included a third category,
‘other Europe’ which covers most European countries that are not members of the EU.
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1) Consumption of milk in EU15, EU13 and Other European countries
From 2015 over 2017 to 2022 (forecast) consumption of milk is going downwards in most EU15 countries
except for the UK and Ireland. Within the EU, the UK is the largest market for drinking milk, whereas
consumption per person is highest in Finland (129,9 kg) and Ireland (112,2 kg), the only countries above the
100 kg mark. Of the EU15 countries the per capita consumption of milk is the lowest in Greece (39,6 kg) and
Belgium (45 kg). Milk consumed in food service represents in EU15 countries only a small part of the total milk
consumption.
9
Contrary to EU15, milk consumption is clearly increasing in all countries of EU13 from 2015 over 2017 to 2022
(forecast). In the EU13 countries, in terms of total volumes most of the milk is consumed in Poland which has
by far the highest population among these countries. However, Poland’s per capita consumption of milk is
relatively low (46,6 kg) compared to some other EU13 countries. The highest per capita consumption of milk
can be found in Estonia (93,9 kg) and Croatia (68,1 kg), whereas the lowest can be seen in Bulgaria with 15,2
kg consumed per person.
Please note that ‘on trade’ (food service) figures were available only for Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary,
Poland, Romania and the Slovak Republic. The share sold through food service is small overall, with the
exception of Hungary.
10
‘Other Europe’ consists of countries, which are geographically (at least partly) in Europe but not in the
European Union. In terms of total volumes, most of the milk among these countries is consumed in Russia,
followed by Turkey. Milk consumption is on an upward trend in these 2 countries with the strongest growth
expected in Turkey, while it is declining in Ukraine and Belarus. The highest per capita consumption can be
observed in Norway (85,2 kg) and Switzerland (70 kg), closely followed by Russia and Belarus, whereas only
27,5 kg of milk are consumed per person in Ukraine. For ‘Other Europe’ on trade figures are only available for
Norway, Russia, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine. In Russia, food service makes up around 45% of overall
consumption and around 36% in Ukraine.
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2) Consumption of butter & spreadable fats in EU15, EU13 and Other European
countries
The consumption of butter and spreadable fats has increased considerably across the EU15 from 2015 to 2017
and will, according to projections, continue to rise even further up to 2022. France, known as a butter (and
cheese) country, is the largest market in the EU28 but it is Ireland that boasts the highest per capita
consumption with 12,2 kg ahead of France (11 kg). Unsurprisingly, there is a clear North-South division, with
butter consumption in Spain and Italy reaching only 2,3 kg per person. It is worth noting also that more than
12
50% of the butter and spreadable fats are consumed through food service in France, whereas this share is only
around 7% in Germany. Industrial use also plays a big role for butter but is not included in these figures.
Butter consumption is also booming in the EU13 countries and this trend is expected to continue up to 2020.
Consumption levels are considerably higher within the Visegrad group (Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary)
and the Baltics (with the exception of Lithuania) than in the more Southern countries. The highest amounts of
butter per person are consumed in Slovakia (9 kg), followed by Hungary (8,1 kg). Among the countries for
which food service data is available, its share of total consumption is quite high in Romania and Slovakia (45-
50%), whereas it is marginal in Czechia and Bulgaria.
13
Butter consumption is also on the rise in non-EU European countries. Total consumption of butter &
spreadable fats in ‘Other Europe’ is the highest in Russia and Norway, while the highest per capita
consumption of butterfat can be observed in Switzerland (14 kg). The lowest quantities per head are eaten in
Montenegro (1,3 kg). In Russia food service plays a relatively important role (35%), whereas this share is very
small in the other countries for which data is available, i.e. Norway, Switzerland Turkey and Ukraine.
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3) Consumption of cheese, ‘fromage frais’ & quark in EU15, EU13 and Other
European countries
Cheese consumption has increased in all EU15 countries and this trend is expected to continue until 2022. Like
for butter, France represents the largest market, followed by Germany and Italy. France and Italy are also the
countries where most cheese is consumed per person, with 27 and 24 kg respectively. Ireland has the lowest
per capita consumption with 6,7 kg and it is the only country below the 10kg mark. The per capita consumption
of Germany, Finland, Sweden and France is considerably higher if ‘fromage frais’ and quark are taken into
account (see graph on page 17).
Retail accounts for the majority of overall cheese consumption in all EU15 countries, with the exception of
Austria. The share of food service is also relatively significant in France and Germany.
15
Cheese consumption is increasing at a solid pace in all EU13 countries for the years 2015-2017 and this trend
is expected to continue until 2022.
Cheese consumption per capita is already above 10kg in most EU13 countries. Even if the least butter is
consumed in Bulgaria, its cheese consumption per capita is actually the highest at 19,8 kg, followed by the
Czech Republic with 17,4 kg and Slovenia with 17 kg. By contrast, in Romania only 3 kg of cheese was consumed
per person in 2017. In most countries where food service data is available (Czechia, Poland, Romania and
Slovakia), the market is divided close to 50/50 between retail and food service. In Hungary the share of food
service is even higher, about 2/3. In the EU15 the vast majority of cheese is sold through retail (not taking into
account the use of cheese as an ingredient).
16
Cheese consumption is also increasing in all the countries of ‘Other Europe’, with Russia, Switzerland and
Turkey showing the highest consumption in terms of total volumes. Looking at quantities capita, Switzerland
is in a league of its own with 45kg, which must be the highest in the world. In Russia, Turkey and Ukraine per
capita cheese consumption is still relatively low ranging from 4 to 8 kg. The lowest per capita consumption of
cheese can be seen in Moldova (2,4 kg). Food service (as a part of overall consumption) is quite high in Russia
and Turkey, compared to retail.
17
‘Fromage frais’ includes creamy soft cheeses made with whole or skimmed milk and cream. The consumption
of ‘fromage frais’ and quark plays a role mainly in Germany, Finland, Sweden and France but it could be that
the reporting methodology is not the same in all Member States, meaning that some of these products might
be included in the cheese category. This would explain the huge differences among countries with otherwise
similar consumption patterns. Germany has not only the highest volumes of ‘fromage frais’ and quark
consumption but also the highest per capita figure (9 kg). Finland is second with 7,4 kg per person, followed
by Sweden and France with 3,8 and 3,7 kg. Around 18,8% of the ‘fromage frais’ and quark is consumed in
Germany through food service (vs 81,2% retail). Like for other cheese, consumption is on the rise.
18
The consumption of fresh cheese and quark in 4 of the EU13 countries and in Russia and Ukraine is at its
infancy with per capita consumption ranging between 0 and 1 kg but the volumes are growing. Moreover,
some of these products might be covered under regular cheese.
Most of the fresh cheese and quark is sold through retail.
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4) Consumption of cream in EU15, EU13 and Other European countries
From 2015 to 2022 (forecast) the consumption of cream is increasing steadily in most countries, especially
France, Germany and Italy but on a downward trend in the UK. Belgium has the highest per capita consumption
of cream (17,5 kg), followed by Sweden (13,6 kg). The lowest per capita consumption can be seen in Greece
and Luxemburg (1,4 kg and 0,4 kg). In a number of countries, including Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, the
Netherlands and Spain, cream is mainly used in the food service sector, with only a minor part sold in retail.
20
In EU13 countries, the highest consumption of cream both in terms of total volumes and per capita (7,1 kg)
takes place in Poland, where volumes are steadily increasing year by year. Cream consumption is also slightly
increasing in the other countries. Significant amounts of cream per person are also consumed in Croatia and
Slovenia, followed by Czechia and Slovakia. For almost all EU13 countries, for which ‘on trade’ data are
available, the majority of cream is used in food service.
21
In terms of volumes most of the cream is consumed in Russia, followed by Ukraine and Norway. Highest
volumes of cream per person are consumed in Norway (7,3 kg), Iceland (3,7 kg) and Switzerland (3,4 kg) and
the least in Montenegro (0,03 kg) and Macedonia (0,27 kg). In Russia and Switzerland more cream seems to
be consumed through food service than through retail.
22
5) Consumption of yogurt in EU15, EU13 and Other European countries
The consumption of yogurt from 2015 to 2017 and the projection up to 2022 looks similar to the consumption
picture of cheese and butter – we see solid increases for almost all EU15 countries. The highest overall
consumption volumes of yogurt, can be found in France and Germany, whereas the highest per capita
consumption of yogurt is recorded in Sweden (33,4 kg), the Netherlands (30,5 kg) and Finland (23,8 kg).
Unsurprisingly, almost all yogurt is sold in retail establishments.
23
Yogurt consumption In the EU13 follows the same trend but from a lower base. The biggest total consumers
of yogurt are Poland, Bulgaria and Romania.
The highest per capita consumption of yogurt was in 2017 in Bulgaria (29,3 kg), followed by Estonia (15,8 kg),
whereas the least yogurt per person is consumed in Malta (5,7 kg). Like for EU15, the big majority of yogurt is
sold through retail.
24
Among these countries, only in Turkey and Russia is consumption of yogurt is significant in terms of total
volumes. A significant per capita consumption of yogurt can only be seen in Norway (16,3 kg) and Turkey (12,7
kg) and to a lesser extent in Russia (4,7 kg) and Switzerland (3,5 kg). Yogurt is mainly sold in retail shops, with
the exception of Switzerland.
In the other countries yogurt consumption is very low to non-existent.
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6) Per capita consumption figures of some European countries (in kg) Source: Global Data
Please note that in the following consumption tables for the individual EU countries cheese includes also
‘fromage frais’ & quark.
Austria
Belgium
Czechia
Denmark
Finland
France
2017 % 17/16 per capita 2017
Milk 442.999.574 - 0,6% 6,9
Cream 58.046.309 + 1,3% 6,7
Cheese 221.104.712 + 3,7% 25,4
Butter 79.413.819 + 2,4% 9,1
2017 % 17/16 per capita 2017
Milk 517.163.909 - 1,7% 45,3
Cream 200.417.847 + 0,1% 17,6
Cheese 185.829.121 + 2,3% 16,3
Butter 100.428.492 + 2,1% 8,8
2017 % 17/16 per capita 2017
Milk 601.688.110 + 2,3% 56,5
Cream 55.511.756 + 0,0% 5,2
Cheese 189.548.727 + 4,1% 17,8
Butter 76.416.568 + 4,4% 7,2
2017 % 17/16 per capita 2017
Milk 512.697.105 + 1,8% 91,7
Cream 55.580.687 + 1,5% 9,9
Cheese 114.910.225 - 0,7% 20,5
Butter 44.854.242 - 1,1% 8,0
2017 % 17/16 per capita 2017
Milk 717.047.538 + 0,2% 130,4
Cream 81.469.034 + 0,9% 14,8
Cheese 126.709.519 + 2,4% 23,0
Butter 17.136.004 + 2,5% 3,1
2017 % 17/16 per capita 2017
Milk 3.246.176.519 - 2,1% 48,6
Cream 404.427.207 + 1,4% 6,1
Cheese 2.058.475.036 + 0,8% 30,8
Butter 735.700.985 + 1,6% 11,0
26
Germany
Ireland
Italy
Netherlands
Poland
Spain
United Kingdom
2017 % 17/16 per capita 2017
Milk 4.482.893.400 - 0,5% 55,5
Cream 595.163.954 - 11,6% 7,4
Cheese 2.090.733.053 + 1,0% 25,9
Butter 466.058.575 + 0,6% 5,8
2017 % 17/16 per capita 2017
Milk 562.365.248 + 0,5% 113,6
Cream 19.604.671 + 1,9% 4,0
Cheese 37.561.792 + 2,6% 7,6
Butter 60.862.113 + 3,8% 12,3
2017 % 17/16 per capita 2017
Milk 2.525.944.440 - 3,8% 40,7
Cream 242.613.988 + 0,4% 3,9
Cheese 1.531.451.080 + 1,1% 24,7
Butter 180.292.704 + 0,0% 2,9
2017 % 17/16 per capita 2017
Milk 1.109.788.359 - 0,4% 65,2
Cream 36.092.868 + 0,2% 2,1
Cheese 319.586.222 + 2,6% 18,8
Butter 146.267.550 + 2,7% 8,6
2017 % 17/16 per capita 2017
Milk 1.791.135.696 + 2,1% 46,5
Cream 273.820.263 + 1,5% 7,1
Cheese 556.313.415 + 3,6% 14,4
Butter 211.741.335 + 2,9% 5,5
2017 % 17/16 per capita 2017
Milk 4.195.316.446 - 1,4% 86,4
Cream 141.258.412 + 1,3% 2,9
Cheese 519.798.573 + 2,1% 10,7
Butter 110.447.410 + 1,0% 2,3
2017 % 17/16 per capita 2017
Milk 5.798.124.605 - 0,4% 90,0
Cream 243.827.594 - 1,4% 3,8
Cheese 757.182.887 + 1,8% 11,8
Butter 590.750.093 + 1,8% 9,2
27
IV. ASIA & OCEANIA – Consumption of dairy products Asia-Pacific is the fastest growing region for dairy products, driven by rapid population growth and increasing
dairy consumption. It is a quite heterogeneous group, including the heavyweights China and India accounting
for more than 1/3 of the world population, the South East Asian nations as well as the OECD members Japan
and South Korea, which are also more developed in terms of dairy consumption. In addition, we have included
the net exporters and extremely mature dairy markets New Zealand and Australia.
Dairy consumption in China, already the largest dairy importer, has been booming and given the still very low
rates per capita, the potential for growth is enormous. It remains to be seen what impact the ongoing trade
war with the US will have. A switch from commodities to higher value added products such as cheese can be
observed in the import portfolio. There is also considerable potential in India where consumer preferences
are quickly evolving but the growing demand is likely to be mostly served by Indian product due to the self-
sufficiency policy in place in the country.
28
From 2015 over 2017 to 2022 (forecast) the consumption of milk is rising in most Asian countries, with the
highest increases in total volume terms expected in China, India and Pakistan. Consumption of drinking milk is
however decreasing in Japan and South Korea. The per capita consumption of milk is highest in Pakistan (116,2
kg), which outranks even Australia (107,9 kg) and New Zealand (91,9 kg). The reported consumption volumes
for India seem far too low however, as India produces almost 160 million tonnes of milk. Most likely, the
informal sector (i.e. raw drinking milk) is not included. South Korea, Japan, and Thailand have moderate
consumption, whereas it is still very low in China (9 kg), Indonesia (8,9 kg) and the Philippines (8,9 kg). Food
service compared to retail, has an important role only in India, where its share of the reported total is around
46%.
The consumption of butter and spreadable fats is increasing in all the Asian and Oceanian countries from 2015
to 2017 to 2022 (forecast), in line with the global trend. The per capita consumption of butter is still below 1
kg for most of these countries except for the big dairy countries Australia (10,9 kg) and New Zealand (14,3 kg),
29
as well as Hong Kong (2,5 kg) and Malaysia (1,2 kg). In China, New Zealand, India and Pakistan more butterfat
is sold through food service than through retail.
The consumption of cheese is also on the rise in all Asian and Oceanian countries. Given that the per capita
consumption of cheese is still very low (except for Oceania), the growth potential is considerable, with food
service being the main driver. Per capita consumption is by far the highest in Australia (12,8 kg), followed by
New Zealand (7 kg). Big cheese importers Japan and South Korea are the only Asian countries where more
than 2kg of cheese are consumer per person.
Only very little cheese is currently consumed by the Chinese (0,03 kg) but due to the sheer size of the country,
it belongs already to worlds largest cheese importers and even small consumption increases will slowly push
30
the country towards the nr.1 spot. Chinese cheese imports have increased from 200 tonnes in 2000 to 108
000 tonnes in 2017, representing an increase of 5 300%.
Consumption in China and Thailand is almost exclusively in restaurants and also in the other countries the
share of food service is significant (notably in Japan and South Korea).
From 2015 to 2022 (forecast) the consumption of cream is rising considerably in all Asian countries (including
Oceania), with the strongest increases seen by far in China which is expected to double its consumption
between 2017 and 2022. Next to Oceania (e.g. 5,6 kg in Australia), the highest cream consumption per person
is recorded in Thailand (0,8 kg) and Japan (0,9 kg). In China the per capita consumption of cream was only at
0,11 kg in 2017 (the average per capita figures in Europe are at around 12-13 kg). The market share of food
service is considerable in most countries and close to 100% in China and Thailand.
31
The consumption of yogurt is also growing in all Asian countries (including Oceania), albeit in most cases from
a very low base. The highest per capita consumption of yogurt can be seen, after Oceania, in Japan (6,2 kg),
South Korea (3,2 kg) and Thailand (1,6 kg), whereas consumption is almost absent in other Asian countries. It
has to be noted that drinking yogurt, which is not included in these figures, is more popular in some Asian
markets such as China and South Korea. Around 3 kg of drinking yogurt are consumed per person and per year
in China. Yogurt is purchased basically in all Asian and Oceanian countries mostly in retail shops and only for a
small part through food service.
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V. MIDDLE EAST-NORTH AFRICA - Consumption of dairy products
In Middle East & North Africa increased consumption, which is coupled with investment in advanced
technology and government support, will drive growth in dairy markets. The dairy market in this region offers
significant opportunities for launching innovative products. Many of the worlds largest importers of dairy
products are located in MENA. The Gulf region consists of developed countries with young populations, high
employment rates and a high level of urbanization. Increasing income levels and increasing consumer
awareness about health, are changing consumer habits in the region despite political and economic challenges
in many North African countries, the region remains hungry for dairy and is key for Europe due to its
geographical proximity and historical ties.
From 2015 to 2022 (forecast) the consumption of milk is rising in all MENA countries, especially in Egypt.
However, the per capita consumption of milk is quite different in these countries. The highest per capita
33
consumption appears in the UAE (83,9 kg), followed by Saudi Arabia (66,8 kg) and Tunisia (61 kg). The least
milk per person is consumed in Lebanon (19,3 kg), Iran (19,5 kg) and Morocco (19,9 kg). In the countries, for
which retail and food service data is available (Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia and UAE), most of the milk is bought
through retail, although in Egpyt it is about 50/50.
The butter and spreadable fat consumption is also rising significantly in all MENA countries in line with the
global trend. Butter consumption is expected to rise strongly especially in Algeria and Lebanon until 2022.
Butter consumption per capita has already a fairly high level in Algeria (2,7 kg), Lebanon (2,4 kg) and in Saudi
Arabia (2,2 kg), whereas it is still very low in Iran (0,1 kg) and Morocco (0,2 kg). Most of the butterfat is
consumed in retail in Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. However, food service plays also a considerable
role in Saudi Arabia (36,7%).
34
The consumption of cheese is continuously increasing from 2015 to 2022 (forecast), especially in Egypt, Saudi
Arabia and Lebanon.
The highest per capita consumption of cheese is seen in Israel with 17,2 kg which is comparable to the average
per capita consumption in the EU. Israel is followed by Saudi Arabia with 13,2 kg which is extremely high for a
non-western country. In Egypt and the United Arab Emirates a person consumes around 5,5 kg of cheese per
year, whereas it is only around 1,1 kg in Algeria and 1,5 kg in Morocco.
35
Also cream consumption is rising in this region, most notably in Algeria, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. The per
capita consumption of cream is quite high in Lebanon (5,3 kg), whereas it is for most of the MENA countries
still quite low between 0,03 kg and 0,8 kg, with the exception of Algeria (1,5 kg) and Israel (1,9 kg). Only in
Israel most of the cream is purchased through retail. In Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates more
than half of the cream is consumed in food service.
36
For the period 2015-2022 (forecast) the consumption of yogurt is increasing in all MENA countries, with the
highest volumes and increases occurring in Iran.
The per capita consumption of yogurt is also by far the highest in Iran (24,9 kg), followed by the UAE (15,8 kg)
and Saudi Arabia (7,5 kg). In Algeria, Jordan and Oman yogurt consumption does almost not exist and is so far
per person only between 0,2 and 0,7 kg.
In all the 4 countries, for which retail and food service data is available, most of the yogurt is consumed through
retail, but the share of food service is not negligible.
37
VI. AMERICAS - Consumption of dairy products
Despite offering opportunities for further growth, the US and Canadian markets are quite mature already and
the population growth rate in North America is rather low (around 1%), albeit higher than in Europe. This said,
there is also still room for increasing consumption per capita (in comparison to Western Europe for instance).
The growth potential however lies mainly in Latin America, driven by an emerging middle class, in particular
in Mexico and Brazil.
The consumption picture for milk looks quite different across the Americas. Consumption is increasing
significantly for Brazil, Columbia and Mexico, rather stagnating in Argentina and Chile and decreasing in
Venezuela, Canada and the United States. The strongest decrease of drinking milk can clearly be observed in
the United States. People drinking less milk is a trend which can be observed in most mature dairy markets in
the western world. Veganism and the growing demand for plant-based (soy, almond, rice, oat etc.) drinks has
38
reinforced this trend. The drop in Venezuela is rather due to the economic meltdown of the country. As for
Argentina and Chile, both are quite mature dairy countries and net exporters.
The highest per capita consumption of milk can be seen in Canada (80,8 kg) and Columbia (79,1 kg), followed
by Mexico (64,3 kg) and the US (62,9 kg). In Venezuela and Peru only 15,8 kg and 20,4 kg of milk per person
respectively were consumed in 2017. Most of the milk is purchased in retail although the share of food service
is considerable, especially in Argentina and the US.
The consumption of butter and spreadable fats is increasing in all countries, most strongly in Canada and the
USA. Butter is benefiting from a healthier image and has seen its popularity increase. As a matter of fact, US
butter consumption per person is nearing a 50-year peak but is still relatively modest in comparison to Canada
or certain European countries. Per capita consumption in the Americas is by far the highest in Canada with 8,9
kg, followed by Chile and Venezuela, where it is at 4,9 kg and at 4,6 kg. The least butter per person is consumed
39
in Columbia with 0,7 kg. The majority of the butter purchased in retail except for Mexico where food service
accounts for most of the volumes. The food service sector is also of significant importance in the US and
Canada and to a slightly lesser extent in the South American countries.
Cheese consumption is rising in all 9 countries for the period 2015 to 2022 (forecast). Especially in the US, but
also in Mexico, Argentina, Brazil or Chile, there appears to be further potential for growth, whereas cheese
consumption is forecasted to remain rather flat until 2022 in Canada. There are huge variances regarding the
per capita consumption of cheese for these 9 countries. The per capita consumption is the highest in the US
with 12,9 kg and the lowest in Peru with 0,6 kg. Mexico’s cheese consumption lies also at the lower end with
3,5 kg and Chile has already a quite high cheese consumption with 9,2 kg per person.
40
In the US, the country with the highest cheese consumption, around 58% of the cheese is consumed through
food service which is quite impressive. In Canada the picture is similar but in all the other countries the majority
of the cheese is consumed through retail.
From 2015 to 2022 (forecast) the consumption of cream is increasing in all North and South American countries
and the increases are clearly the strongest in Canada and the USA.
The per capita consumption of cream is with 11,5 kg by far the highest in Canada, followed by the USA with
4,3 kg and Mexico with 1,3 kg. The least cream per person is consumed in Peru (0,01 kg) and Chile (0,2 kg).
Interesting to note is that in Canada and the US (where most of the cream is consumed) more than half of the
consumption happens through food service.
41
The consumption of yogurt is increasing in all countries for the years 2015 to 2022 (forecast) except in the
USA, where it is decreasing quite strongly.
The highest consumption of yogurt per person takes place in Chile (12,9 kg) and Canada (11,1 kg), whereas
only very little yogurt is consumed per person in Columbia (1,2 kg) and Venezuela (1,4 kg).
As is the case elsewhere, the yogurt market is mainly a retail one.
42
VII. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA – Consumption of dairy products
In general, dairy consumption per capita in Sub-Saharan African remains low. The 6 countries included in the
following graphs, are those with the highest overall consumption of dairy products in Sub-Saharan Africa,
based on the Global Data figures which include neither raw milk, nor powders (such as milk powder mixed
with vegetable fat) for reconstitution.
In terms of volumes most of the milk is consumed in South Africa, followed by Ethiopia. In all the indicated
countries overall milk consumption is increasing from 2015, over 2017 to 2022. The highest per capita
consumption can be seen in South Africa (34,4 kg) followed by Kenya (19,6 kg), whereas the least milk per
person is consumed in Nigeria (4,1 kg).
43
‘On trade’ figures were only available for South Africa. In South African around 64% of the milk is consumed
through retail and around 36% through food service.
In terms of volumes by far most of the butter is consumed in Nigeria. Butter(fat) consumption is rising in all
these countries, but off a low base.
The biggest per capita consumption of butter can be seen in Angola (1 kg) and Nigeria (0,9 kg), whereas almost
no butter is consumed in Niger (0,06 kg) or Ethiopia (0,06 kg).
In South Africa most of the butter is purchased through retail.
44
Cheese consumption in terms of volumes is the strongest in South Africa. From 2015 to 2022 (forecast) the
consumption is rising quite strongly for almost all countries. Cheese consumption per capita is still on a very
modest level in all the 6 countries. South Africa, the country with the highest amount of cheese consumption
in volumes, has also the highest per capita consumption of cheese (2 kg). Angola, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Niger
consume per person only very little cheese per year (between 0,2 and 0,8 kg). In Kenya cheese consumption
is so far virtually absent (0,01 kg per person).
In South Africa the majority of cheese is consumed through retail.
45
Cream consumption is highest in Angola and South Africa but also there it is very low. In the 3 countries,
Angola, Nigeria and South Africa, in which cream is being consumed, its consumption is rising relatively
strongly from 2015 to 2022 (forecast). The per capita consumption of cream is the highest in Angola (0,9 kg)
but almost not existing in Nigeria (0,04 kg).
In South Africa equal amounts of cream are consumed in retail (50%) as well as in food service (50%).
46
Yogurt consumption is extremely low in sub-Saharan Africa. Only in South Africa significant amounts of yogurt
are consumed so far. However, the overall trend of yogurt consumption is increasing in all these African
countries from 2015 to 2022 (forecast). Per person around 3,7 kg of yogurt are consumed in South Africa and
between 0,05 kg and 0,41 kg in Angola, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and Niger.
Only around 10% of the consumed yogurts in South Africa fall into food service, the rest is consumed through
retail.
47
VIII. OVERVIEW OF PER CAPITA CONSUMPTION OF DAIRY PRODUCTS
1) Per capita consumption of all dairy products (kg ME/capita) in 2013
Source: IFCN (International Farm Comparison Network), 2013
Afghanistan 68 Lithuania 441Albania 452 Luxembourg 326Algeria 129 Macedonia 215Argentina 214 Malawi 4Armenia 228 Malaysia 28Australia 328 Mexico 118Austria 297 Mongolia 167Azerbaijan 212 Morocco 91Bangladesh 41 Nepal 72Belarus 315 Netherlands 498Belgium 314 New Zealand 593Bolivia 43 Nigeria 8Bosnia-Herzegovina 211 Norway 337
Brazil 180 Pakistan 253Bulgaria 203 Panama 85Cameroon 15 Paraguay 79Canada 249 Peru 64Chile 151 Philippines 13China 31 Poland 267Columbia 124 Portugal 202Costa Rica 197 Romania 282Croatia 219 Russia 251Cuba 78 Saudi Arabia 136Cyprus 257 Senegal 23Czechia 231 Serbia 195Denmark 556 Slovakia 170Ecuador 127 Slovenia 251Egypt 97 South Africa 59Estonia 326 Spain 207Ethiopia 48 Sri Lanka 44Finland 374 Sudan (2013) 241France 349 Sweden 387Germany 322 Switzerland 473Greece 288 Taiwan 50Hungary 151 Tajikistan 115Iceland 397 Tanzania 45India 123 Thailand 24Indonesia 13 Tunisia 113Iran 112 Turkey 260Ireland 366 Turkmenistan 398Israel 184 Uganda 50Italy 268 Ukraine 236Jamaica 85 United Kingdom 270Japan 77 Uruguay 350
Jordan 95 USA 259
Kazakhstan 296 Uzbekistan 245
Kenya 126 Venezuela 109
Korea (South) 60 Vietnam 15
Kyrgyzstan 235 Yemen 26
Latvia 321 Zimbabwe 10
48
2) Per capita consumption of milk
Source: FAO, Eurostat, CLAL
3) Per capita consumption of butter
Source: FAO, Eurostat, CLAL
Country 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 +/- on 2016
kg kg kg kg kg kg
Ukraine 123,22 117,83 123,39 120,58 117,94 117,56 -0,32%
Belarus 115,08 106,55 111,12 112,27 110,76 112,48 1,56%
New Zealand 95,12 99,82 108,39 107,69 106,63 106,25 -0,36%
Australia 110,03 107,73 110,76 113,45 105,7 103,47 -2,10%
United States 88,53 86,63 85,17 83,36 82,21 81,12 -1,33%
Canada 87,1 84,58 82,74 81,31 80,38 79,18 -1,49%
EU-28 67,06 66,91 67,19 66,46 65,85 65,59 -0,39%
Russia 76,7 70,68 68,58 66,02 62,24 59,73 -4,03%
India 41,17 42,55 44,05 45,64 47,39 48,69 2,74%
Brazil 42,69 44,64 47,3 46,48 46,23 47,78 3,35%
Argentina 50,67 48,54 47,55 48 38,95 37,97 -2,52%
Mexico 34,5 33,95 33,65 33,24 32,8 32,39 -1,23%
Japan 31,5 30,98 30,52 30,75 31,25 31,14 -0,34%
South Korea 31,59 31,63 30,56 30,22 29,53 30,21 2,28%
Taiwan 14,61 15,25 15,76 16,35 16,85 17,27 2,47%
China 9,83 10,38 10,9 10,99 10,4 10,49 0,88%
Philippines 0,63 0,69 0,62 0,56 0,82 0,72 -11,95%
Country 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 +/- on 2016
kg kg kg kg kg kg
New Zealand 4,7 4,87 4,82 5,2 6,01 5,95 -0,96%
Belarus 6,23 5,17 5,59 4,53 4,32 5,07 17,22%
Australia 3,59 3,67 3,79 3,95 4,23 4,7 11,25%
EU-28 4,02 4,02 4,26 4,23 4,27 4,31 0,95%
India 3,58 3,7 3,77 3,84 3,92 4,03 2,61%
Canada 2,84 2,89 2,78 2,95 3,22 3,36 4,17%
United States 2,53 2,48 2,5 2,6 2,64 2,64 -0,35%
Russia 2,37 2,49 2,62 2,43 2,43 2,53 4,27%
Mexico 1,74 1,95 1,9 1,98 2,09 2,04 -2,37%
Ukraine 2,12 2,22 2,58 2,17 2,09 1,83 -12,48%
Taiwan 0,86 0,81 0,94 1,06 1,02 1,02 -0,30%
Argentina 0,9 0,96 0,88 0,94 0,96 0,97 1,40%
Japan 0,6 0,56 0,59 0,6 0,56 0,52 -8,14%
Brazil 0,44 0,43 0,39 0,41 0,43 0,43 -0,78%
49
4) Per capita consumption of cheese
Source: FAO, Eurostat, CLAL
5) Per capita consumption of SMP
Source: FAO, Eurostat, CLAL
Country 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 +/- on 2016
kg kg kg kg kg kg
EU-28 17,06 17,14 17,52 17,87 17,82 18,17 1,97%
United States 15,27 15,34 15,66 16,09 16,7 16,95 1,49%
Canada 11,46 11,43 11,43 11,54 12,68 12,56 -0,91%
Australia 10,74 10,89 11,29 11,34 11,4 11,9 4,41%
New Zealand 8,73 8,63 8,76 8,88 9,01 9,56 6,12%
Argentina 12,19 11,92 11,87 11,65 9,83 8,97 -8,77%
Russia 8,46 7,94 7,46 7,31 7,47 7,89 5,56%
Belarus 6,97 6,86 7,06 7,27 7,49 7,6 1,54%
Ukraine 4,28 4,39 4,39 4,12 4,21 4,23 0,49%
Mexico 3,13 3,38 3,53 3,77 3,89 3,96 1,73%
Brazil 3,61 3,71 3,69 3,75 3,78 3,82 1,11%
South Korea 2,02 2,13 2,34 2,71 2,66 2,92 9,96%
Japan 2,2 2,22 2,17 2,31 2,39 2,5 4,81%
Taiwan 0,99 1,07 1,11 1,23 1,36 1,35 -0,30%
Philippines 0,22 0,16 0,2 0,21 0,22 0,24 7,04%
Country 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 +/- on 2016
kg kg kg kg kg kg
Algeria 3,19 3,39 3,45 3,41 3,45 3,51 1,79%
Australia 3,33 3,46 3,45 3,57 3,4 3,39 -0,13%
Mexico 2,45 2,04 1,99 2,39 2,55 2,72 6,64%
Chile 1,33 1,32 1,19 1,97 2,18 2,33 6,83%
Canada 1,95 2,04 1,83 1,7 1,96 2,05 4,67%
EU-28 1,59 1,68 1,75 1,92 1,57 1,92 22,24%
Philippines 0,99 1,05 0,96 0,99 1,37 1,38 0,56%
Russia 1,04 1,29 1,26 1,29 1,33 1,34 1,03%
United States 1,67 1,34 1,44 1,53 1,39 1,31 -5,59%
Japan 1,35 1,31 1,31 1,28 1,29 1,28 -1,01%
New Zealand 0,67 0,89 1,31 1,52 1,07 1,06 -0,96%
Taiwan 0,9 0,9 0,98 1,06 0,98 1,02 4,04%
Brazil 0,87 0,86 0,87 0,92 0,91 0,9 -0,78%
South Korea 0,54 0,62 0,64 0,71 0,75 0,76 2,25%
Indonesia 0,82 0,88 0,84 0,78 0,66 0,62 -6,26%
Ukraine 0,64 0,93 0,58 0,45 0,45 0,59 30,63%
Argentina 0,43 0,4 0,35 0,39 0,16 0,54 240%
India 0,34 0,31 0,34 0,38 0,4 0,43 6,89%
China 0,16 0,21 0,22 0,17 0,16 0,2 23,24%
Belarus 0,11 0,11 0,21 0,11 0,32 0,11 -66,62%
50
6) Per capita consumption of WMP
Source: FAO, Eurostat, CLAL
IX. ANNEX: POPULATION FIGURES (FOR PER CAPITA CALCULATIONS) Source: CIA Factbook (figures are CIA estimates for August 2018)
Country 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 +/- on 2016
kg kg kg kg kg kg
Algeria 4,92 4,43 4,6 5,37 5,47 5,69 4,03%
New Zealand 0,45 3,1 3,28 3,9 3,86 5,1 32,06%
Chile 3,52 3,84 3,69 3,66 3,52 3,54 0,77%
Brazil 3,00 2,96 2,95 3,05 3,19 3,18 -0,18%
Argentina 2,14 2,23 2,44 2,63 2,33 1,99 -14,55%
Belarus 1,37 1,27 1,48 1,27 1,58 1,58 0,13%
China 1,12 1,26 1,33 1,37 1,42 1,36 -4,13%
Taiwan 1,33 1,33 1,41 1,45 1,27 1,35 6,35%
Venezuela 7,49 6,37 5,11 6,97 2,53 1,31 -48,17%
Australia 1,45 1,51 1,36 1,26 1,24 1,31 5,25%
Russia 0,65 0,58 0,54 0,54 0,63 0,74 17,76%
EU-28 0,57 0,59 0,65 0,62 0,67 0,72 6,72%
Mexico 1,06 1,17 1,1 1,06 1,07 0,51 -52,08%
Indonesia 0,53 0,48 0,48 0,45 0,47 0,48 2,96%
United States 0,08 0,08 0,09 0,15 0,12 0,18 41,50%
Philippines 0,07 0,08 0,09 0,09 0,03 0,05 64,13%
Ukraine 0,24 0,22 0,2 0,16 0,09 0,02 -74,88%
EU15 Asia & Oceania
Austria 8.754.413 Japan 126.451.398
Belgium 11.491.346 Malaysia 31.381.992
Denmark 5.605.948 Philippines 104.256.076
Finland 5.518.371 Singapore 5.888.926
France 67.106.161 South Korea 51.181.299
Germany 80.594.017 Thailand 68.414.135
Greece 10.768.477 Australia 23.232.413
Italy 62.137.802 New Zealand 4.510.327
Ireland 5.011.102 India 1.281.935.911
Netherlands 17.084.719 Pakistan 204.924.861
Portugal 10.839.514 Americas
Spain 48.958.159 Argentina 44.293.293
Sweden 9960487 Brazil 207.353.391
United Kingdom 65.648.100 Chile 17.789.267
EU13 Columbia 47.698.524
Bulgaria 7.101.510 Mexico 124.574.795
Czech Republic 10.674.723 Peru 31.036.656
Hungary 9.850.845 Venezuela 31.304.016
Poland 38.476.269 Canada 35.623.680
Romania 21.529.967 USA 326.625.791
Slovak Republic 5.445.829 Middle East/Africa
Turkey 80.845.215 Egypt 97.041.072
Russia 142.257.519 Israel 8.299.706
Ukraine 44.033.874 Saudi Arabia 28.571.770
Asia & Oceania United Arab Em. 6.072.475
China 1.379.302.771 South Africa 54.841.552
Hong Kong 7.191.503
Indonesia 260.580.739
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