Fonterra tops milk processors list for 2012

New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra topped the International Farm Comparison Network’s (IFCN) list of top milk processors this year, followed by Dairy Farmers of America and Groups Lactalis. The numbers are based on amount of milk intake, and Fonterra collected 21.6 million tonnes of milk this year, and had a dairy turnover of $16.4 billion (€21.4bn). The top 20 companies process 24% of the world’s milk production, and Fonterra alone is processing 3% of world milk production. Nestlé and Dean Foods round out the top five, and 50% of all companies includes in the list are originally from Europe.

Meanwhile, India was the top milk producing country in 2011, according to the report, with 137.5 million tonnes produced. The US was second with 84.3 million tonnes, followed by Pakistan and China. Brazil came in fifth place with 32 million tonnes producted. Interestingly, both India and Pakistan produced a lot of milk, but deliveries were small (23 million and 1.3 million), while the US and most other developed countries used most of what they produced.

IFCN predicts that costs for milk production should increase by about 5% versus 2011, with the main drivers being feed prices, energy costs, increasing competition on land market worldwide. The netwotk predicts that the profitability of dairy farms has declined versus 2011, due to these factors and the average milk price dropping by 24% in 2012 compared to the same period in 2011.

For further infromation please visit www.ifcndairy.org