4 French Dairies in the World Top 20

While European companies maintained their place in the top 20, Dairy Farmers of America’s (DFA) acquisition of nearly all of Dean Foods (No. 11 on Rabobank’s list last year) reduced the number of U.S. companies to three. DFA will see further growth later this year with the operation of a large-scale cheese plant in Michigan, a joint venture with Select Milk and Glanbia.

France has four dairy companies in the top 20, while China and Canada each have two companies in the top 20 in 2020.

Lactalis: 41 purchases since 2013

Among the dairy giants, Lactalis continued to grow through acquisitions and expansion into markets in the Middle East, Africa, North America and South America, with 41 acquisitions since 2013. Nestlé remained at the top, but the gap with Lactalis narrowed.

Asian companies are making progress: China’s Yili is fifth, up from eighth a year ago, thanks in part to its acquisition of New Zealand’s Westland. Mengnui, China’s second-largest dairy company, has acquired Australia’s Bellamy’s and entered into a joint venture with Coca-Cola.

Its Indian cooperative in Gujarat, the world’s largest milk producing state, increased sales by 17% compared to 2018. The company has grown at a CAGR of over 17% over the past decade due to increased milk collections, expanded processing capacity and new markets and products.

DFA will see additional growth later this year with the commissioning of a large-scale cheese plant in Michigan, a joint venture with Select Milk and Glanbia.

While 10 of the 20 companies experienced year-over-year sales declines, cumulative revenues (in US dollars) increased by 1.3%, compared to 2.5% in 2018 and 7.2% in 2017.