Africa Grows Milk but Still Relies on Imports

From 2013 to 2023, Africa’s milk production climbed by 17%, rising from around 45.5 million tons to 53.2 million tons. Yet despite this growth, the continent remains highly dependent on dairy imports—with imports reaching US $7.5 billion in 2023, driven by population growth, urbanisation and persistently low yields.

Cattle numbers are substantial, but productivity is weak: Africa holds about 20% of the world’s cattle, yet contributes only around 5% of global milk output, demonstrating the large “yield-gap” problem. The East Africa region remains the dairy engine, producing nearly 25.4 million tons in 2023, up 26% since 2013. Meanwhile, many West African markets rely heavily on fat-filled milk powder (FFMP) and other low-cost imports, especially in countries like Algeria (22% of African dairy imports), Nigeria (9%) and Egypt (10%).

Industry insight:
For India’s dairy exporters and equipment/processing firms, this dynamic presents a two-fold opportunity: (1) African markets remain structurally under-supplied despite production growth, so demand for processing systems, quality control, cold-chain infrastructure and training remains strong; (2) but any push into those markets must factor in that local production growth alone will not displace imports quickly—value-added, cost-effective solutions and partnerships will be key.

Source : Dairynews7x7 Nov 4th 2025 Read full story here