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The Dairy Industry Worldwide

By Bruce Einhorn

The Dairy Industry Worldwide

According to the National Dairy Council in the U.S., June is National Dairy Month. But for companies that produce milk, the markets that matter increasingly are elsewhere. Between 2005 and 2008, the growth rate for consumption of dairy products in the U.S. was flat. The country with the biggest appetite for dairy, not surprisingly, was India, where many people are vegetarians; India’s dairy consumption grew at a compounded annual rate of almost 3% between 2005 and 2008. Meanwhile, the world’s hottest dairy market was China. No. 3 worldwide, China grew at 10.6% over the three years, even though the Chinese traditionally are not big milk drinkers, and the country experienced a frightening scandal last year involving tainted-milk that hospitalized thousands of children and killed several. For more on all things dairy, including which countries consume the most milk, produce the most milk, import and export the most milk as well as butter and cheese, read on.