Milk & dairy
Cow's milk and the butter, cheese and powders made from it: a perishable staple that processing turns into tradable goods.
Livestock & dairy · No. 112
- Not on a critical list
- HHI 606 · unconcentrated
India milks more cows than anywhere, yet New Zealand's farmers set the world price for milk powder through an online auction.
Chart: Illustration: Milk & dairy
Where it comes from
Chart: Map of where it comes from
Milk comes from herds ranging from grass-fed New Zealand cows to housed American herds and millions of Indian smallholders; the world produced about 797 million tonnes in 2024.
Three things to know
- Raw milk spoils within days, so almost all dairy trade happens as cheese, butter and powders; cheese exports alone were worth $43.8 billion in 2024.
- Farmers are paid for milk's fat and protein, not its volume; India pays on fat and solids-not-fat.
- New Zealand supplies 29.3% of traded milk powder and 22.2% of butter, so a Kiwi drought can move world prices.
The journey
- 1 Dairy herdsPasture, housed herds or Indian smallholders
- 2 MilkingAt least twice daily, chilled for collection
- 3 ProcessingPasteurised and separated into cream
- 4 ProductsCheese, butter, powders and whey
- 5 MarketRetail, food factories and export