Leading dairy countries
Various countries play a leading international role in milk production. Which country is number one depends on the criterion used. The International Farm Comparison Network (IFCN) compiles overviews in which all dairy products are converted into kilos of milk (milk equivalents).
In terms of the volume of milk produced on farms, India was the world’s number one in 2007. The United States took first place in terms of the volume of milk delivered by farmers to dairy processing plants.
The Netherlands is in the top 5 in terms of dairy exports. New Zealand is top of the export league. This is easy to explain, since New Zealand is large and highly suitable for milk production. New Zealand produces a lot of milk, but has a small population.
Another possible criterion is to rank countries according to their dairy trade surplus, i.e. the difference between their dairy exports and imports. Here too, New Zealand emerges as number one.
Conversely, some countries import more milk than they export. Mexico has the biggest dairy trade balance deficit.
Read more about milk and the economy