Top 20 World Dairy Companies Revealed

Jul 18, 2012

Rabobank Report Presents the ‘Who’s Who of Dairy’

Rabobank just released the results of a survey that examined the world’s largest dairy companies which also highlighted some of the key trends in the dairy industry. The measure utilized was ranking the dairy company by product turnover.

It comes as no surprise that the top spots are held by companies in the developed world. Leading the way in the top two spots were Nestle and Danone.

One of the most notable shifts in ranking is the continual rise of Lactalis. Showing a steady gain through the acquisition of Parmalat and Skanemejerier, Lactalis has moved from fourth the third place respectively. But the biggest strides were made by Chinese companies. The Chinese companies have made big inroads by first gaining top 20 statuses in 2010 and moving up four places to 15th place in the 2012 report.

Top 20 World Dairy Companies

1.    Nestlé
2.    Danone
3.    Lactalis
4.    Fonterra
5.    FrieslandCampina
6.    Dairy Farmers of America
7.    Dean Foods
8.    Arla Foods
9.    Kraft Foods
10.    Meiji
11.    Unilever*
12.    Saputo
13.    DMK
14.    Sodiaal*
15.    Yili
16.    Mengniu
17.    Bongrain
18.    Schreiber Foods*
19.    Müller
20.    Land O’Lakes

The shifting dynamics between the top dairy company leaders will become more notable in the years to come as emerging markets such as China, South East Asia, India and Latin America are predicted to experience steady sales growth. The most progressive dairy company leaders have already started to strategically position themselves in order to survive in the changing marketplace. The report predicts that mergers and acquisitions will become a common move for these companies.

Video: SaskAgToday.com Roundtable: India imposes a 30% duty on all yellow pea imports

Canadian farmers have another barrier to deal with when marketing grain. India announced it will issue a 30% duty on all yellow pea imports, including from Canada, effective Saturday, November 1. That was the main topic of the SaskAgToday.com Roundtable, though it's not the only one as the final crop report of 2025, SARM's recent trip to Ottawa, and the upcoming Grain Millers Harvest Showdown in Yorkton were other notable topics.