Chile’s industrial milk intake rises 5.9% to record 2.546 billion liters
Chilean dairy plants received a record 2.546 billion liters of milk in 2025, up 5.9% year on year. Higher value-added production and exports supported growth, while apparent domestic availability declined slightly.
Industrial intake reaches a new high
Milk intake at Chilean industrial plants reached a record 2.546 billion liters in 2025, an increase of 5.9% from 2024 and the second consecutive season of production growth, according to Paislobo. The figures come from the national-market chapter of the 2025 Dairy Sector Indicators report, prepared by the Dairy Information Center, whose members are Consorcio Lechero, Fedeleche and Exporlac, with support and drafting by Chile’s Office of Agricultural Studies and Policies, known as Odepa.
Chile’s large dairy processors handled 2.371 billion liters during the year, while smaller industrial plants received 175.104 million liters. Large processors therefore accounted for most of the milk entering the formal industrial system. Odepa dairy specialist Gabriel Cartes said the expansion was led by increased production of value-added goods and a stronger export focus among domestic companies.
Industrial output of dairy derivatives increased broadly during 2025, according to the sector report. The higher intake gives processors more raw material for products aimed at both domestic and overseas buyers, but it also raises the importance of plant utilization, product mix and access to profitable markets.
Southern regions dominate supply
Milk collection remained heavily concentrated in southern Chile. Los Ríos and Los Lagos together represented 78.4% of national intake in 2025, making conditions in those two regions central to plant throughput and raw-milk availability.
Los Lagos remained the largest processing region, recording 1.073 billion liters, or 45.2% of the national total, and returning to its 2023 level. As a producing region, it reported 965 million liters and a 40.7% market share. Los Ríos handled 914.363 million liters and delivered the strongest contribution to national growth. Its share rose from 33.9% in 2023 to 37.7% in 2025, while intake increased 11.7% from 2024.
Elsewhere, Biobío posted Chile’s largest regional increase, at 36.2%, suggesting a recovery after its decline in 2024. Ñuble expanded by 7.0%, also exceeding the national growth rate. Fedeleche general manager Carlos Arancibia linked the rebound to better forage conditions, technical gains in genetics and milking facilities, and coordination between farmers and processors.
Exports grow as domestic availability slips
Chile’s dairy export volume rose 29% in 2025 to 491 million liters of milk equivalent shipped to nearly 40 open international markets, Exporlac president Guillermo Iturrieta said. Because regulation requires exported products to use domestically sourced raw material, processors relied on substantial imports of milk powder and cheese to supply the home market and direct more Chilean fresh milk toward higher-value export products.
Apparent domestic availability nevertheless fell by 1.9%, from 139.4 liters of milk equivalent per person in 2024 to 136.8 liters in 2025. The measure combines industrial intake and imports, then subtracts exports. It is an estimate of supply rather than actual consumption and can be affected by inventory movements.
The average nominal price paid to dairy farmers ended 2025 at 446.39 Chilean pesos per liter, 2.5% above the 2024 average. For 2026, Fedeleche forecasts another 4% to 5% increase in industrial intake, subject to labor availability, feed costs, environmental requirements and other public-policy issues. Consorcio Lechero president Sergio Niklitschek said sustaining growth will require productivity, innovation and sustainability across the chain.
