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At around 535 thousand metric tons in 2025, the consumption volume of milk has remained stable across New Zealand over the past three years. New Zealand has one of the highest per capita consumption rates of fresh white milk in the world.

Production of milk in New Zealand

New Zealand’s milk production has remained steady over the past decade, the volume exceeding around 21 billion liters annually. Most of the milk comes from cattle, with dairy cows located in various regions across New Zealand. The Waikato region has the highest share of dairy cows in the country, with the next largest herds found in the South Island. Dairy farms sell their milk to be further processed into dairy products, with Fonterra currently the largest downstream milk processor in New Zealand.

New Zealand leads the world in milk exports

The country’s dairy production far outweighs local consumption, with New Zealand the leading exporter of milk worldwide. While Australia, Indonesia, and the United States were all importing New Zealand milk, the leading market for New Zealand’s dairy exports was China. The overall export revenue of fluid milk and other dairy products in New Zealand is forecast to continue increasing over the next few years.