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Fresh milk (Pixabay)Worldwide purchases of imported milk attracted US$37.3 billion worth of spending in 2025.
Overall, the value of imported milk increased by 7.3% for all importer countries since 2021 when import purchases of milk were valued at $34.7 billion.
Year over year, international purchases of milk grew by 6.5% compared to $35 billion during 2024.
The world’s 5 biggest import markets for milk are mainland China, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and Algeria. Collectively, those 5 countries bought one third (33.4%) of total spending on milk imported worldwide during 2025.
From a continental perspective, countries located in Europe imported the highest dollar worth of milk during 2025 with purchases costing $14.8 billion or 39.6% of the global total. In second place were importers from Asia at 39.3% while another 10.1% worth of the world’s imported milk was delivered to customers in Africa.
Smaller percentages arrived in Latin America (5.8%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, North America (3.9%) and Oceania (1.2%) led by Australia, Fiji and New Zealand.
The metrics below combine subtotals for two 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefixes for milk. Specifically, those prefixes are 0401 for unsweetened milk and 0402 for milk concentrated or containing added sugar or other sweetening ingredients.
Separating out the overall statistics, unsweetened milk imports under HTS prefix 0401 amounted to $13.5 billion (36.3% of the global total) while sweetened milk items under code 0402 cost $23.8 billion (63.7% compared to 62.5% for the prior year).
Milk: Top 15 Importer Countries
Below are the 15 countries that imported the highest dollar value worth of milk during 2025, including both sweetened and unsweetened varieties.
- mainland China: US$4.2 billion (11.1% of total milk imports)
- Germany: $3.3 billion (8.8%)
- Belgium: $1.9 billion (5.2%)
- Netherlands: $1.6 billion (4.3%)
- Algeria: $1.5 billion (3.9%)
- Italy: $1.4 billion (3.7%)
- France: $1.11 billion (3%)
- Mexico: $1.08 billion (2.9%)
- United Arab Emirates: $979.1 million (2.6%)
- Indonesia: $960 million (2.6%)
- Saudi Arabia: $904.9 million (2.4%)
- Philippines: $775.2 million (2.1%)
- Malaysia: $742.8 million (2%)
- Hong Kong: $684.5 million (1.8%)
- Brazil: $679.4 million (1.8%)
By value, the listed 15 countries purchased 58.3% of all milk imports in 2025.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing markets for milk since 2021 were: Brazil (up 175.7%), Germany (up 52.9%), Italy (up 35.9%) and Belgium (up 32.8%).
Those countries that posted year-over-year declines in their imported milk purchases were: mainland China (down -35.8% from 2021), Hong Kong (down -24.7%) and the United Arab Emirates (down -1.3%).
Milk: All Importer Countries in 2025
The 100 key milk importers showcased in the following automated database represent 97.1% of globally imported milk purchased in 2025.
| 1 | mainland China | $4,158,179,000 | -35.8% |
| 2 | Germany | $3,297,180,000 | +52.9% |
| 3 | Belgium | $1,923,891,000 | +32.8% |
| 4 | Netherlands | $1,593,155,000 | +9.8% |
| 5 | Algeria | $1,471,192,000 | +24.2% |
| 6 | Italy | $1,380,725,000 | +35.9% |
| 7 | France | $1,114,679,000 | +32.5% |
| 8 | Mexico | $1,084,156,000 | +5.2% |
| 9 | United Arab Emirates | $979,067,000 | -1.3% |
| 10 | Indonesia | $960,001,000 | +11.7% |
| 11 | Saudi Arabia | $904,937,000 | +25.6% |
| 12 | Philippines | $775,246,000 | +23.4% |
| 13 | Malaysia | $742,762,000 | +12.3% |
| 14 | Hong Kong | $684,492,000 | -24.7% |
| 15 | Brazil | $679,403,000 | +175.7% |
| 16 | Poland | $658,057,000 | +34% |
| 17 | Vietnam | $627,526,000 | +25.8% |
| 18 | United Kingdom | $583,212,000 | +33.8% |
| 19 | Ireland | $552,691,000 | +63.5% |
| 20 | Singapore | $551,132,000 | -2.2% |
| 21 | Thailand | $540,483,000 | +17.3% |
| 22 | Greece | $532,498,000 | +58.1% |
| 23 | Spain | $516,109,000 | +50.3% |
| 24 | Oman | $479,913,000 | -44.8% |
| 25 | Bangladesh | $469,458,000 | +8.3% |
| 26 | Taiwan | $429,052,000 | +11.2% |
| 27 | Lithuania | $381,400,000 | +49.4% |
| 28 | Egypt | $347,956,000 | +3.4% |
| 29 | Sri Lanka | $329,871,000 | +3.1% |
| 30 | Nigeria | $310,214,000 | -33.4% |
| 31 | South Korea | $303,050,000 | +62.9% |
| 32 | United States | $297,796,000 | +79.2% |
| 33 | Kuwait | $275,685,000 | +39.6% |
| 34 | Australia | $274,297,000 | +17.2% |
| 35 | Romania | $241,478,000 | +30.2% |
| 36 | Peru | $228,577,000 | +8.5% |
| 37 | Dominican Republic | $217,818,000 | +37.4% |
| 38 | Austria | $203,093,000 | +31.7% |
| 39 | Croatia | $194,760,000 | +50.9% |
| 40 | Libya | $165,970,000 | -39.6% |
| 41 | Colombia | $158,861,000 | +17.7% |
| 42 | Czech Republic | $153,935,000 | +75.9% |
| 43 | Slovakia | $152,636,000 | +30.7% |
| 44 | Guatemala | $152,613,000 | +48.5% |
| 45 | Portugal | $150,424,000 | +36.9% |
| 46 | Latvia | $146,905,000 | +66.7% |
| 47 | Kazakhstan | $145,473,000 | +37.1% |
| 48 | Iraq | $139,854,000 | -59.4% |
| 49 | Morocco | $129,290,000 | +204.4% |
| 50 | Jordan | $122,257,000 | -3.6% |
| 51 | Denmark | $121,397,000 | +47.2% |
| 52 | Bulgaria | $113,404,000 | +4.3% |
| 53 | Sweden | $112,018,000 | +12.8% |
| 54 | Japan | $111,222,000 | +39.7% |
| 55 | Hungary | $110,773,000 | +22.1% |
| 56 | Ivory Coast | $110,120,000 | +29.4% |
| 57 | Yemen | $107,410,000 | -63.5% |
| 58 | Lebanon | $99,989,000 | +69.5% |
| 59 | El Salvador | $93,974,000 | +84.5% |
| 60 | Canada | $91,131,000 | +33.6% |
| 61 | Mauritania | $88,057,000 | +6.2% |
| 62 | Bahrain | $87,939,000 | +10.5% |
| 63 | Cambodia | $87,493,000 | +129.7% |
| 64 | Mauritius | $86,262,000 | +31.7% |
| 65 | Venezuela | $84,083,000 | +302.7% |
| 66 | Slovenia | $78,380,000 | +77.7% |
| 67 | Angola | $76,951,000 | +1% |
| 68 | Ghana | $73,360,000 | -28% |
| 69 | Qatar | $70,747,000 | -23.4% |
| 70 | Somalia | $70,687,000 | -59% |
| 71 | Cuba | $69,373,000 | -40.4% |
| 72 | Estonia | $60,951,000 | +140.4% |
| 73 | Cameroon | $60,688,000 | +2.1% |
| 74 | Georgia | $60,270,000 | +103.7% |
| 75 | Luxembourg | $59,750,000 | +15% |
| 76 | Switzerland | $58,618,000 | +70.8% |
| 77 | Democratic Republic Congo | $58,348,000 | +226.9% |
| 78 | Chile | $57,495,000 | -25.4% |
| 79 | Honduras | $54,142,000 | +49.7% |
| 80 | Fiji | $48,036,000 | +37.1% |
| 81 | Kenya | $47,551,000 | -40.1% |
| 82 | Trinidad/Tobago | $47,100,000 | +2.4% |
| 83 | Senegal | $47,096,000 | +1.3% |
| 84 | Tunisia | $45,576,000 | +281.4% |
| 85 | Israel | $45,455,000 | +24.2% |
| 86 | South Africa | $44,198,000 | -28% |
| 87 | New Zealand | $42,278,000 | -27.7% |
| 88 | Maldives | $40,514,000 | +24.3% |
| 89 | Myanmar | $39,982,000 | -6.3% |
| 90 | Nicaragua | $38,825,000 | +203% |
| 91 | Guyana | $38,183,000 | +28.6% |
| 92 | Pakistan | $36,849,000 | -31.5% |
| 93 | Panama | $36,686,000 | +17.1% |
| 94 | Burkina Faso | $36,158,000 | +68.1% |
| 95 | Armenia | $33,703,000 | +42.4% |
| 96 | Azerbaijan | $32,209,000 | +118.4% |
| 97 | Macao | $32,161,000 | +36.6% |
| 98 | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $31,791,000 | +51.5% |
| 99 | Serbia | $31,689,000 | -15.2% |
| 100 | Moldova | $31,016,000 | +64.3% |
Among the listed 100 geographies, the fastest-growing markets for milk since 2021 were: Venezuela (up 302.7%), Tunisia (up 281.4%), Democratic Republic of the Congo (up 226.9%), Morocco (up 204.4%) and Nicaragua (up 203%).
Over the 5-year period, the worst decliners in imported milk purchases were recorded by buyers in: Yemen (down -63.5% from 2024), Iraq (down -59.4%), Somalia (down -59%), Oman (down -44.8%) then Cuba (down -40.4%).
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the listed columns above. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that no 2024 data is available.
Major International Milk Suppliers
Below are global milk-processing companies that represent established players engaged in the international milk trade. Many of these business entities are cooperatives. The home country for each company is shown within parenthesis.
- Almarai (Saudi Arabia)
- Arla Foods (Denmark)
- Borden Milk Products (United States)
- Canberra Milk (Australia)
- First Milk (United Kingdom)
- Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited (New Zealand)
- FrieslandCampina (Netherlands)
- La Serenísima (Argentina)
- Lactalis (France)
- Zott (Germany)
See also Top Milk Exporting Countries, Fresh or Frozen Beef Imports by Country, Natural Honey Imports by Country and Most Valuable Red Meat Import Markets by Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Imports – Commodities. Accessed on July 31, 2026
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on July 31, 2026
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on July 31, 2026
Wikipedia, Category:Dairy products companies by country. Accessed on July 31, 2026
Wikipedia, Dairy. Accessed on July 31, 2026
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