Milk & dairy: Production
Why India, not America, is the world's dairy giant
Why India, not America, is the world's dairy giant What this tab covers Who produces it and how much: world output over recent years, the top producing countries with their shares, USGS world figures for 2024 and 2025, and the largest producing companies globally and in India.FAOSTAT puts 2024 cow milk output at about 797 million tonnes, up from 479 million in 1990. Growth was slow in the 1990s and faster since, reaching 748 million in 2020. India leads with 16.9%, ahead of the United States (12.9%), China, Brazil, Germany and Russia. The HHI of 606 shows unconcentrated production. These figures cover cattle milk only; India's large buffalo milk output is not counted. Export capacity is far more concentrated than production, in New Zealand, the EU and the US.
Raw milk of cattle · FAOSTAT
Chart: World production of Raw milk of cattle
World production, tonnes. Hover for values.Top producers 2024
India 16.9% United States 12.8% China 5.1% Brazil 4.6% Germany 4.2% Russia 4.1% Pakistan 3.1% France 3.0% Concentration: HHI 606, unconcentrated.Largest producers by company, global
- Lactalis: 40.2 US$ billion dairy turnover (ranked first) (2025)
- Nestlé: 23.7 US$ billion dairy turnover (2025)
- Dairy Farmers of America: 23.1 US$ billion dairy turnover (2025)
- Arla Foods: 23 US$ billion dairy turnover (2025)
- Danone: 21.6 US$ billion dairy turnover (2025)
- Yili: 100 billion yuan sales (more than) (2025)