Dairy price recovery in 2017 has positively affected the combined turnover of the top 20 companies, which, in 2017, was up 7.2% on the year in US dollar terms and 5.1% in euro terms, according to Rabobank’s latest Global Dairy Top 20 – A Shuffling of the Deck Chairs report.
“For the second consecutive year, there were no new entrants to the Dairy Top 20 list, with the USD 5bn threshold difficult to achieve due to a scarcity of large acquisitions or mergers.” says Peter Paul Coppes, Senior Analyst – Dairy at Rabobank. “However, while the names have remained the same, the order shifted in 2017.”
The world’s largest food & beverage company, Switzerland’s Nestlé, reigns supreme on the list, but the gap between number one and number two has narrowed. French Lactalis swapped places with compatriot Danone and moved into second place, boosted by its acquisitions of US yoghurt businesses Stonyfield and Siggi’s. Danone slipped to the third spot, after divesting Stonyfield following the acquisition of WhiteWave, reducing its stake in Yakult, and selling its holdings in the Al Safi Danone joint venture in Saudi Arabia.
Arla Foods continues to hold position 7 with 10.3 M€ turnover 2017.