SACU dominates dairy export flows in 2025 – SAMPRO Reports

SOUTH AFRICA – South Africa’s dairy trade this year has continued to be driven by movements into the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), although the latest figures show a gradual shift as exports to non-SACU markets grow faster than regional sales.

This is according to new data released this week by the South African Milk Processors’ Organisation (SAMPRO) in its Industry Information Project report, which is based on Sars import and export data for January to September 2025.

SACU markets accounted for 66.7% of South Africa’s measured cross-border dairy volumes in the period. Total sales to Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia reached 99.3 million kg, compared with 49.5 million kg exported to non-SACU countries.

For the same period in 2024, SACU sales were 93.9 million kg, while exports to non-SACU destinations totalled 37.7 million kg, indicating stronger year-on-year growth in markets outside the union.

In South Africa’s dairy trade, three of the six product categories continued to find their strongest markets within the Southern African Customs Union (SACU).

Milk and cream exports to SACU reached 70.3 million kilograms, compared to 15.4 million kilograms sent to non-SACU destinations. Similarly, buttermilk and yoghurt exports totaled 16.0 million kilograms to SACU, against 7.7 million kilograms outside the bloc.

Whey also followed this trend, with 2.2 million kilograms exported to SACU and 1.8 million kilograms to non-SACU markets.

However, in the remaining categories—namely butter, cheese, and concentrated milk—exports to non-SACU countries outpaced those to SACU, signaling a gradual diversification of South Africa’s dairy trade beyond its traditional regional partners.

Cheese and curd exports reached 9.5 million kilograms outside SACU, surpassing the 5.4 million kilograms sold within the bloc.

Butter, butter spreads, and butter oil also leaned toward non-SACU markets, with 1.8 million kilograms exported beyond SACU against 1.3 million kilograms regionally.

The most pronounced difference was in concentrated milk, where non-SACU exports totaled 13.4 million kilograms, more than triple the 4.0 million kilograms directed to SACU countries.

Overall, South Africa’s total dairy exports grew 31.3% year-on-year, increasing from 37.7 million kg in 2024 to 49.5 million kg in 2025. All six dairy categories recording higher export volumes year-on-year.

On the import side, South Africa imported 23.1 million kg of dairy products in the first nine months of 2025, down from 26.5 million kg in 2024.

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