Leading Milk Producing and Exporting Countries

Milk and dairy products are essential for many people’s diet. In 2013, dairy manufacturers around the world produced about 730 million tonnes of milk. With such a large amount of milk produced each year, have you ever wondered where this milk comes from? Well, wonder no more! The article provides a list of the Leading Milk Producing  Countries  in the world!

India tops our list. Not surprisingly due to its population size, India is one of the world’s largest producers of milk and leading milk product exporter. Total annual production of milk in India is estimated to be 110 million tonnes, enough milk to fill over 44,000 Olympic sized swimming pools! This year the country has set a new goal - to reach a record 140.6 million tonnes. This record does seem possible as Recent years India has seen a significant growth in milk production  due to development of large co-operatives.

Second place belongs to the US. About 72% of the calcium in the U.S. food supply comes from dairy foods. The country's dairy farms produce roughly 23 billion gallons of milk annually. This amount  is still enough milk to fill over 34,000 Olympic sized swimming pools! U.S. dairy farms are producing three times more milk today, as compared to 1960. These figures are not bad for a country with a population almost four times smaller than India’s.

Third place goes to China.  China had one of the lowest milk consumption per capita in the world, but according to the recent statements here has seen a significant increase in both Chinese milk production and consumption. Today, China’s annual milk production is estimated to be 40 million tonnes.

Milk is favourite food in Pakistan and is consumed as fresh, boiled and powdered. Over the  past years the country  has seen a growth milk production  as  a large number of modern dairy farms have been established in different areas.

Fifth on our list is Russia. Recent figures show Russia’s annual milk production is estimated to be 34 million tonnes. Like China, Russia is also one of the world’s largest importers of dairy products.

More than 13 billion liters of milk are produced annually on New Zealand's 13,500 dairy farms. Dairy farming is considered to be a part of a proud agricultural tradition in New Zealand. It is an interesting fact that in New Zealand most of the milk is processed for the international market (dairy commodities represent approximately one third of international dairy trade each year).  New Zealand also remains the dominant exporter of butter accounting for about 65 percent of total trade