Image Source: GEA
South Africa’s dairy trade in 2025 continues to be anchored by flows into the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), though new figures reveal a notable shift: exports to non-SACU markets are expanding at a faster pace than regional sales.
Fresh data from the South African Milk Processors’ Organisation (SAMPRO), released this week through its Industry Information Project based on Sars trade statistics for January–September 2025, shows SACU markets accounted for 66.7% of South Africa’s cross-border dairy volumes.
- Regional sales to Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia reached 99.3 million kg.
- Non-SACU exports climbed to 49.5 million kg, up sharply from 37.7 million kg in the same period last year.
By comparison, SACU volumes in 2024 stood at 93.9 million kg, underscoring the stronger year-on-year growth outside the union.
Product Category Breakdown
SACU remained the dominant destination for three of six dairy categories:
- Milk and cream: 70.3m kg (SACU) vs 15.4m kg (non-SACU)
- Buttermilk & yoghurt: 16.0m kg vs 7.7m kg
- Whey: 2.2m kg vs 1.8m kg
Non-SACU markets outperformed SACU in butter, cheese and concentrated milk:
- Cheese & curd: 9.5m kg (non-SACU) vs 5.4m kg (SACU)
- Butter & spreads: 1.8m kg vs 1.3m kg
- Concentrated milk: 13.4m kg vs 4.0m kg
Overall Trade Trends
- Total dairy exports rose 31.3% year-on-year, with all six product categories recording higher volumes.
- Imports fell to 23.1 million kg in the first nine months of 2025, down from 26.5 million kg in 2024.