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Freshly churned butterInternational sales for butter exports from all countries totaled US$12 billion in 2025.
Overall, the value of globally exported butter expanded by an average 56% for all exporting countries 5 years earlier in 2021 when butter shipments were valued at $7.67 billion.
Year over year, the value of exported butter accelerated by 20.7% compared to $9.9 billion starting from 2024.
The top 5 most lucrative exporters of this food spread are New Zealand, Ireland, Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. Collectively, that cohort of major dairy product exporters sold approaching two-thirds (64.2%) of the world’s exported butter during 2025.
Among continents, suppliers based in Europe sold the highest dollar worth of exported butter during 2025 with shipments valued at $8.55 billion or nearly three-quarters (71.4%) of the global total. In second place was Oceania mostly New Zealand but to a lesser degree Australia at 18.8%.
Smaller percentages originated from shippers in North America (4.3%), Asia (3.6%), Latin America (1.6%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Africa (0.3%).
For research purposes, the 6-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for butter is 040510. That code prefix excludes dehydrated butter and ghee. The term ghee means clarified butter (fat) made from the milk of a buffalo or cow and is commonly used in South Asian cooking.
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of butter during 2025.
- New Zealand: US$2.2 billion (18.2% of total butter exports)
- Ireland: $2.1 billion (17.7%)
- Netherlands: $1.5 billion (12.3%)
- Germany: $1 billion (8.5%)
- Belgium: $898.1 million (7.5%)
- France: $895.4 million (7.5%)
- Poland: $550.3 million (4.6%)
- Denmark: $532.8 million (4.5%)
- United States: $510.1 million (4.3%)
- Finland: $254.4 million (2.1%)
- United Kingdom: $208.5 million (1.7%)
- India: $138.6 million (1.2%)
- Italy: $115.5 million (1%)
- Iran: $96.5 million (0.8%)
- Ukraine: $91.5 million (0.8%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 92.5% of worldwide butter exports in 2025.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing exporters of butter since 2024 were: United States of America (up 147.4%), Ukraine (up 107.9%), Poland (up 32.1%) and New Zealand (up 26.8%).
A pair of the listed countries that posted year-over-year declines in their international sales of butter were India (down -12%) and Iran (down -10.1%).
Searchable List of Butter Exporting Countries in 2025
The 100 countries showcased in the automated database below accounted for 99.999% of all butter exported during 2025.
| 1 | New Zealand | $2,181,967,000 | +26.8% |
| 2 | Ireland | $2,113,825,000 | +18.9% |
| 3 | Netherlands | $1,473,722,000 | +6.6% |
| 4 | Germany | $1,013,340,000 | +17.9% |
| 5 | Belgium | $898,079,000 | +24.6% |
| 6 | France | $895,362,000 | +14.1% |
| 7 | Poland | $550,277,000 | +32.1% |
| 8 | Denmark | $532,789,000 | +21.6% |
| 9 | United States | $510,062,000 | +147.4% |
| 10 | Finland | $254,430,000 | +26.4% |
| 11 | United Kingdom | $208,515,000 | +23.5% |
| 12 | India | $138,638,000 | -12% |
| 13 | Italy | $115,486,000 | +17.5% |
| 14 | Iran | $96,545,000 | -10.1% |
| 15 | Ukraine | $91,474,000 | +107.9% |
| 16 | Argentina | $74,314,000 | +250.3% |
| 17 | Australia | $70,340,000 | -32.3% |
| 18 | Uruguay | $69,319,000 | +9% |
| 19 | Sweden | $62,145,000 | +111.6% |
| 20 | Saudi Arabia | $58,878,000 | +64.6% |
| 21 | Portugal | $56,278,000 | -28.1% |
| 22 | Spain | $52,380,000 | +28.4% |
| 23 | Czech Republic | $32,862,000 | +10.9% |
| 24 | Austria | $29,444,000 | -2.2% |
| 25 | Luxembourg | $29,402,000 | +22.2% |
| 26 | mainland China | $28,734,000 | +136% |
| 27 | Lithuania | $27,398,000 | +9.3% |
| 28 | Azerbaijan | $26,570,000 | -66.1% |
| 29 | Belarus | $26,320,000 | +16.2% |
| 30 | South Africa | $17,742,000 | +89.2% |
| 31 | Norway | $17,611,000 | +62796% |
| 32 | Brazil | $15,653,000 | +243.5% |
| 33 | Kazakhstan | $14,597,000 | -46.2% |
| 34 | Kyrgyzstan | $12,937,000 | +24.5% |
| 35 | Costa Rica | $10,554,000 | +23.4% |
| 36 | Türkiye | $10,464,000 | -15.3% |
| 37 | Uganda | $10,359,000 | +15.4% |
| 38 | Slovakia | $9,763,000 | +15.5% |
| 39 | Bulgaria | $9,004,000 | +47.4% |
| 40 | Latvia | $8,671,000 | -0.5% |
| 41 | Chile | $8,056,000 | +71.7% |
| 42 | Canada | $7,854,000 | +183.8% |
| 43 | Malaysia | $7,462,000 | +66.6% |
| 44 | Croatia | $7,214,000 | +5.8% |
| 45 | Singapore | $7,188,000 | +5.8% |
| 46 | Paraguay | $6,402,000 | +40.7% |
| 47 | Hong Kong | $6,167,000 | +7% |
| 48 | United Arab Emirates | $5,011,000 | -71.9% |
| 49 | Switzerland | $4,949,000 | +82383% |
| 50 | Romania | $4,806,000 | +26.6% |
| 51 | Estonia | $4,491,000 | -2.8% |
| 52 | Russia | $4,335,000 | -29.3% |
| 53 | Greece | $4,042,000 | +61.9% |
| 54 | Serbia | $3,472,000 | +29.7% |
| 55 | Thailand | $3,347,000 | +29.9% |
| 56 | Oman | $2,419,000 | +21.6% |
| 57 | Hungary | $2,415,000 | -20% |
| 58 | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $2,331,000 | +171.7% |
| 59 | Morocco | $2,151,000 | +0.5% |
| 60 | Armenia | $1,556,000 | -85.6% |
| 61 | Vietnam | $1,264,000 | +30.4% |
| 62 | Slovenia | $1,051,000 | +20.1% |
| 63 | Bolivia | $984,000 | -17.3% |
| 64 | Jordan | $912,000 | +309% |
| 65 | Rwanda | $801,000 | +434% |
| 66 | Syria | $738,000 | +13.7% |
| 67 | Angola | $725,000 | -67.8% |
| 68 | Iceland | $724,000 | +74.5% |
| 69 | Georgia | $623,000 | 0% |
| 70 | Egypt | $608,000 | +70.8% |
| 71 | El Salvador | $590,000 | +47.5% |
| 72 | Honduras | $516,000 | -65.6% |
| 73 | Pakistan | $462,000 | -69.4% |
| 74 | Philippines | $435,000 | -16.3% |
| 75 | Uzbekistan | $380,000 | -96.6% |
| 76 | Japan | $378,000 | +0.8% |
| 77 | Indonesia | $366,000 | -13.1% |
| 78 | Benin | $316,000 | -85.3% |
| 79 | Kenya | $316,000 | -34.7% |
| 80 | Ghana | $315,000 | +3050% |
| 81 | Colombia | $313,000 | +820.6% |
| 82 | Kuwait | $296,000 | -80.6% |
| 83 | Ecuador | $295,000 | +29400% |
| 84 | Sri Lanka | $198,000 | -41.2% |
| 85 | South Korea | $195,000 | +143.8% |
| 86 | Taiwan | $180,000 | +275% |
| 87 | Malta | $138,000 | +24.3% |
| 88 | Guyana | $87,000 | +4250% |
| 89 | Lebanon | $62,000 | -39.8% |
| 90 | Guatemala | $57,000 | 0% |
| 91 | Fiji | $54,000 | -15.6% |
| 92 | Panama | $49,000 | -29% |
| 93 | Brunei Darussalam | $47,000 | -31.9% |
| 94 | Trinidad/Tobago | $43,000 | -34.8% |
| 95 | Senegal | $39,000 | +129.4% |
| 96 | Zimbabwe | $35,000 | +94.4% |
| 97 | Ivory Coast | $30,000 | +87.5% |
| 98 | Burkina Faso | $26,000 | 0% |
| 99 | Tunisia | $21,000 | 0% |
| 100 | Samoa | $16,000 | -64.4% |
Expanding the scope to encompass all showcased butter exporters, the fastest growers were: Switzerland (up 82,383% from 2024), Norway (up 62,796%), Ecuador (up 29,400%), Guyana (up 4,250%) and Ghana (up 3,050%).
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of the above table’s columns. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that 2024 data is unavailable.
Countries Earning Best Trade Surpluses from Butter
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for butter during 2025. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the surplus between the value of each country’s exported butter and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- New Zealand: US$2.2 billion (net export surplus up 26.9% since 2024)
- Ireland: $2.1 billion (up 18.8%)
- Netherlands: $491.8 million (down -22.9%)
- Poland: $461.3 million (up 38.5%)
- Denmark: $426.2 million (up 18.6%)
- Belgium: $322.7 million (up 4.9%)
- Finland: $252 million (up 27%)
- Germany: $184.2 million (up 56.9%)
- India: $135 million (down -13.4%)
- Iran: $95.6 million (down -9.7%)
- United States: $91.6 million (reversing a -$523.4 million deficit)
- Ukraine: $83.7 million (up 162.4%)
- Argentina: $67.9 million (up 277.1%)
- Uruguay: $63.8 million (up 5.9%)
- Belarus: $26.3 million (up 30.7%)
New Zealand and Ireland generated billion-dollar surpluses in the international trade of butter. In turn, these positive cashflows confirm both countries’ strong competitive advantages for this specific product category.
Countries Incurring Worst Trade Deficits from Butter
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for butter during 2025. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the deficit between the value of each country’s imported butter purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- France: -US$915.3 million (net export deficit up 29.9% since 2024)
- mainland China: -$911.3 million (up 25.6%)
- Saudi Arabia: -$373.5 million (up 51.1%)
- South Korea: -$250.2 million (up 43.7%)
- Canada: -$249.5 million (up 20.4%)
- Italy: -$212.1 million (up 36.9%)
- United Kingdom: -$181.6 million (down -2.1%)
- Spain: -$176.2 million (up 4.5%)
- Czech Republic: -$170.6 million (up 16%)
- Indonesia: -$157.9 million (up 10.9%)
- Australia: -$153.8 million (up 69.9%)
- Romania: -$146.9 million (up 13.9%)
- Taiwan: -$144.3 million (up 14.1%)
- United Arab Emirates: -$119.8 million (up 42.5%)
- Azerbaijan: -$118.7 million (up 94.3%)
France and mainland China incurred the highest deficits in the international trade of butter. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights both countries’ competitive disadvantages for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for butter-supplying countries to help satisfy the powerful demand.
Butter Exporting Companies
Below are global butter-producing cooperatives and multi-national dairy companies. Shown within parenthesis is the city and country where the headquarters for each business is located.
- Arla Foods (Viby, Denmark)
- Fonterra (Auckland, New Zealand)
- Lactalis (Laval, France)
- Müller (Fischach, Germany)
- Parmalat (Collecchio, Italy)
- Zott (Mertingen,Germany)
See also Top Milk Exporting Countries, Cheese Exports by Country, Top Yogurt Exporters and Fresh Eggs Exporters by Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on September 14, 2026
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on September 14, 2026
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on September 14, 2026
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on September 14, 2026
Wikipedia, Category:Multinational dairy companies . Accessed on September 14, 2026
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