Selected Issues of the World Milk Market

The purpose of the study was to assess the competitive position of the dairy sector in international trade in 1998-2017. The analysis of the concentration of global milk production in the years covered by the study was also presented in the paper. The data from the FAO and the information provided by the CLAL constituted the reference source for the conducted research. The study presents the assessment of: trends in production, export and import changes, trends in percentage share changes of major milk producers, exporters and importers and also the competitive position of dairy product exporters. The analysis covered 20 largest global producers and exporters of these products. In the analysed period, the largest milk producers were as follows: India, the United States, Russia, Germany, France and Pakistan. China significantly increased its production share in recent years, whereas Russia, Germany and France reduced their share in global milk production. The following EU countries are listed among the leading exporters of dairy products: Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, France and the Czech Republic. The highest export growth dynamics were recorded in: Poland, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Estonia and Slovakia. The analysed period was characterised by a strong concentration of countries producing and exporting dairy products and an increase in pro-export orientation among the largest exporters of these products in global markets. After joining the European Union, Poland’s competitive position on the discussed market was gradually improving