International, European and French trade in dairy products: trends and competitive dynamics

Abstract

At the international level, the dairy sector is favored by a growing demand, mainly from Asian countries, where dairy consumption per capita remains much lower than that observed in the European Union (EU) and North America. Over the last fifteen years (2000-2015), New Zealand has been, far ahead of the USA and EU, the country that has most benefited from the growth of international trade in dairy products, especially under the influence of whole milk powdered Chinese imports. Despite an increase in imports, especially of cheese and butter, France regularly improves its trade balance which reached 3.75 billion euros in 2015. This performance is due mainly to the dynamics of trade with the United Kingdom and China. Since 2010, the trade balance of France with non-European countries is improving while the internal competition with the EU is becoming more difficult. For European dairy producers, the slight decline in demand for dairy products in the EU and the rapid increase in milk production in several Member States since the abolition of milk quotas in 2015 is a real threat. This should be an additional incentive to, firstly, increase exports abroad and, secondly, improve sales of the wide variety of dairy products on the domestic market.