Compared to the previous five years (2019-2023), Belgian dairies produced more cheese (+25%), more fresh dairy products (+10%) and more condensed milk and whey (+7%) in 2024. The production of mozzarella (+31%) and fresh cheese (+102%) in particular contributed to this increase. Together, they account for 80% of the 137,000 tonnes of cheese produced in Belgium: 87,000 tonnes of mozzarella and 22,000 tonnes of fresh cheese. There were declines in the production of milk powders (-10%), drinking milk (-5%) and farm butter (-4%). This is what emerged from the new results of Statbel, the Belgian statistical office.

Drinking milk remains the main product group

Drinking milk, milk drinks and fresh dairy products remain the most important products in the Belgian dairy industry. In 2024, the total production of drinking milk (chocolate milk and milk with added vitamins included) amounted to 795 million litres.

As for drinking milk, semi-skimmed milk is produced the most, although its production has decreased by 9% in 2024 compared to the last 5 years. Whole milk, on the other hand, is gaining ground with a 3% increase. The production of milk with added vitamins recovered in 2024 after a sharp decline in 2022 and 2023.

Increase in the production of fresh dairy products

Fresh dairy products such as yoghurt, fermented milk drinks, cream and desserts are the second largest category in the Belgian dairy production with a total production volume of 732 million litres. The entire category increased by 9% in 2024 compared to the previous five years. Desserts (+14%), fermented milk (+10%) and cream (+8%) contributed the most to this growth. The production increase of yoghurt remains limited to 4%.

The production of farm butter continues to decrease

In 2024, 64,000 tonnes of farm butter were produced, or a decrease of 4% compared to the last five years.

Cheese production continues to rise thanks to mozzarella and fresh cheese

In 2024, some 137,000 tonnes of cheese were produced in Belgium. Mozzarella production increased by 31% to 87,000 tonnes, accounting for 63% of the Belgian cheese production. The production of fresh cheese also saw a striking increase of 102% compared to the five-year average, with a production of 22,000 tonnes.

More condensed milk, less milk powder and ice cream

In the remaining categories, the production of consumer ice cream is declining. While in 2019, 66,000 litres of ice cream were still produced, in 2024, only 60,000 litres were produced, i.e. a decrease of 5% compared to the average productions of the period 2019-2023.

The production of milk powder, totalling 218,000 tonnes, fell by 10%. There is a particular decline in the production of unskimmed milk powder (-31%), and other milk powders (such as those for baby or sports nutrition) also fell in production (-51%).

However, the production of condensed milk and whey rose by 7%. This brings the production level to 66,000 tonnes for 2024.

International exchange of milk as a raw material

Dairy farms receive milk, cream and skimmed milk as raw materials for their production, either directly from dairy farmers or from fellow dairies. This dairy landscape extends beyond Belgium.

For their production, dairy farms managed to maintain their milk supplies directly from farmers at the same level as in 2023. In 2024, 4.5 billion litres of milk were supplied for processing from Belgium and abroad.

In addition, milk, cream and skimmed milk were also imported into Belgium from dairy farms in neighbouring countries. As much as 481 million litres of milk, 147 million litres of cream and 32 million litres of skimmed milk were imported. 

On the other hand, dairy farms also exported 560 million litres of milk, 50 million litres of cream and 3 million litres of skimmed milk to dairy farms in neighbouring countries.

Collection and export of milk and cream in Belgian dairies (in 1000 litres) (2019-2024)