Swiss food giant Nestle remains the dominant player in the world dairy sector, according to industry Rabobank, despite leaps made by companies in emerging markets.
The firm’s Global Dairy Top-20 revealed the recent growth of Japan and China in the world dairy sector. However, the top ten is still headed by Nestlé, and dominated by players from the mature markets of Europe and the US.
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Despite this, Japanese contender Meiji Dairies moved up three places to number 11, and Yili from China shot into the rankings for the first time at number 17.
Changing diets and strength in numbers are key to understanding the growth of demand in the Asian markets, according to Mark Voorbergen of Rabobank’s Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory.
“The Chinese government is helping create a whole new generation of dairy consumers by promoting a school milk programme. So Chinese dairy companies will have ample opportunity to increase sales simply by keeping up with domestic market growth,” Voorbergen said.
He added that Rabobank expects the Chinese market to grow along the same lines as Japan or South Korea, from “zero levels five years ago” to a maximum of 50 litres per person per year.
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By GlobalDataElsewhere, Brazil is tipped for the Top-20 next year, assuming successful completion of the new conglomerate made up of Itambé, Centro Leche, Confepar, Mineiras Cemil and Mines Milk. Mexico’s Grupo Lala is also a contender for the list following its acquisition of National Dairy Holdings last year.
