# Milk & dairy

Cow's milk and the butter, cheese and powders made from it: a perishable staple that processing turns into tradable goods.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/dairy/

Livestock & dairy · No. 112

- Not on a critical list
- HHI 606 · unconcentrated
 Livestock & dairy · Foundation · Matter

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

1. 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.
2. Farmers are paid for milk's fat and protein, not its volume; India pays on fat and solids-not-fat.
3. 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. 1 **Dairy herds**Pasture, housed herds or Indian smallholders
2. 2 **Milking**At least twice daily, chilled for collection
3. 3 **Processing**Pasteurised and separated into cream
4. 4 **Products**Cheese, butter, powders and whey
5. 5 **Market**Retail, food factories and export

##### Go deeper pick a tab to open it in full

## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/dairy/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/dairy/correlation/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/dairy/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/dairy/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/dairy/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/dairy/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/dairy/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/dairy/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/dairy/criticality/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/dairy/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/dairy/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/dairy/links/index.md)