Dairy co-operative Fonterra has retained its spot as the sixth-largest dairy company in the world for the third consecutive year, according to a Rabobank report.
The latest Global Dairy Top 20 report marked Fonterra’s 2021 sales as totalling US$14.8 billion (NZ$23.6bn), up by $1.2bn on the previous year.
Fonterra’s annual results for the 2022 financial year are due to be announced next month.
Ahead of Fonterra in the agri-business bank’s annual report are French dairy company Lactalis, Switzerland-based Nestlé, French-owned Danone, and Dairy Farmers of America and China-owned Yili.
2021 saw Fonterra complete the sale of its two wholly-owned China farming hubs. Despite these sales, greater China remains an important market, particularly for foodservice sales.
The combined 2021 turnover of the top 20 companies jumped by 9.2 percent in US dollar terms, following the previous year’s modest decline of 0.1 percent.
The year was marked by intense competition across the industry.
The turnover of Lactalis rose to US$26.7bn in 2021, an increase of $4.7bn or 16.2 percent on the previous year, pushing it well clear of second-placed Nestlé which recorded turnover of $21.3bn during the same period.
Danone swapped places with Dairy Farmers of America in its climb to third place on the list.
Yili remained in fifth place despite an increase in its 2021 turnover $4.4bn higher than the previous year, though retained its position as the leading Asian dairy company for the ninth consecutive year. Yili has upgraded production and doubled capacity of its New Zealand Hokitika butter plant at Westland Milk Products, effectively expanding the market share of Westgold Butter.
