Dean, Kraft Slip in Top 20 Global Dairy Company Rankings
Dairy Farmers of America, with dairy sales of $12.1 billion, ranks sixth in the world and is the highest U.S. ranking company.
Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), Dean Foods, Kraft Foods and Schreiber Foods all have again made the list of the world’s top five global dairy companies in 2013, according to ranking released by Rabobank this morning.
DFA, with dairy sales of $12.1 billion, ranks sixth in the world and is the highest U.S. ranking company. Dean Foods ranks eighth, falling from seventh last year. Kraft plunged to 16th place, from ninth in 2012. And Schreiber Foods is again at 19th.
"The top five companies remain unchanged in their position on the list, yet there are now two Chinese companies in the rank of the largest 15 companies, whereas there were none in the top 20 until 2008," says Rabobank analyst Tim Hunt. "In contrast, the lack of a U.S.-based global consolidator means that the rankings of U.S. companies has declined."
Nestle, based in Switzerland, is the world’s largest dairy company, with $30.1 billion in annual sales. Danone and Lactalis, both based in France, rank second and third. New Zealand’s Fonterra is fourth, and FrieslandCampina from the Netherlands is fifth.
"With the rapid growth of the Chinese giants, it is quite possible that the U.S. dairy giants will be pushed further down the list in coming years, with the global landscape largely being shaped by
others at present," explains Hunt.
"Size should not be a goal in itself, and U.S. companies can participate in growth offshore by developing their export businesses. However, with much of the growth opportunities in dairy likely to come outside of the U.S. in coming years, U.S. companies will need to think about whether being an unaligned exporter with no offshore footing will be enough to secure a fair share of the growth and value available in the future."
