# Milk & dairy: Movement

Why milk barely travels but cheese crosses the world

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

What this tab covers How it flows between countries: the largest bilateral trade routes drawn on a world map, 2024 UN Comtrade export and import values with the top exporters and importers by share, plus shipping routes, chokepoints and trade restrictions.

Milk itself barely crosses borders; trade is in products. Comtrade values 2024 exports at $43.8 billion for cheese (HS 0406), $20.2 billion for milk powders (HS 0402) and $12.7 billion for butter (HS 0405). New Zealand leads powders (29.3%) and butter (22.2%). Cheese exports are European, led by Germany (14.9%), Italy and the Netherlands. China is the top powder importer (13.6%), with Algeria second, while cheese and butter imports are dominated by EU neighbours trading with each other. Dairy is heavily protected by tariffs and quotas in many importing countries.

#### Where it is exported from and imported to, 2024

Chart: World map of the largest trade flows
 Exporter (size = share of world exports) Importer (share of world imports) Shipping chokepoint UN Comtrade 2024. Bubbles: shares of reported world exports and imports for the main traded form. Country-to-country route lines are not available for this commodity yet. Hover a circle for values.

#### Milk powder · HS 0402
 World exports 2024 $20.2 bn sum of 40 reporting countries World imports 2024 $17.4 bn sum of 40 reporting countries Top exporters, share of value New Zealand 29.3% United States 10.7% Netherlands 8.4% Germany 7.5% France 5.5% Belgium 5% Top importers, share of value China 13.6% Algeria 8.1% Mexico 5.8% Saudi Arabia 5.2% Indonesia 4.9% Netherlands 4.1%

#### Butter · HS 0405
 World exports 2024 $12.7 bn sum of 40 reporting countries World imports 2024 $11.3 bn sum of 40 reporting countries Top exporters, share of value New Zealand 22.2% Netherlands 15.5% Ireland 14.4% Germany 8.1% Belgium 8.1% France 7.7% Top importers, share of value France 15% China 8.4% Germany 7.6% Netherlands 7.5% United States 7.3% Belgium 6.2%

#### Cheese · HS 0406
 World exports 2024 $43.8 bn sum of 40 reporting countries World imports 2024 $39.1 bn sum of 40 reporting countries Top exporters, share of value Germany 14.9% Italy 13.3% Netherlands 13.2% France 9.8% United States 5.6% Denmark 5.2% Top importers, share of value Germany 14.8% France 8.1% Italy 7.4% United Kingdom 6.7% Netherlands 5.6% Spain 5.1% UN Comtrade, reporter declarations to the world, US$. Exports and imports are reported separately, so totals differ. Re-exporting hubs (Netherlands, Singapore, Switzerland, UAE) can appear large.

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/dairy/index.md)
- [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)
- [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)