Latin America

This report examines inflation levels and drivers globally and in key countries. Global inflation is reaching a peak, although geopolitical risks and uncertainty in the energy market remain key risks. The impact varies between countries, with…

This report examines inflation levels and drivers globally and in key countries. In 2023, global inflation is expected to ease from its peak in 2022, but remaining significantly above-trend. Geopolitical risks and uncertainty in the energy market are…

After a decline in supply in 2022, improved milk production is pushing retail volume sales back into growth in 2023. Conflict between the leader supplier Cooperativa Nacional de Productores de Leche (Conaprole) and trade unions reduced the supply of…

Shelf stable milk continues to benefit from the decline in consumption of evaporated milk. Consumers are increasingly switching to shelf stable milk, as it is healthier and the range is also increasing, in terms of packaging formats, as well as…

The consumption of milk has decreased for the third year in a row in 2023. This is explained, in part, by the evolution of the demographics in the country. The population of children (aged 0 to 14 years old) has been declining consistently and this…

Though milk power is losing ground to shelf stable UHT milk, it still accounts for most volume sales. Milk powder is an important dairy product for many Guatemalan families because it is affordable and offers a source of nutrition and also has a…

In 2022, milk consumption in Ecuador was limited by the national strike that took place in the middle of the year, which complicated the logistics chain. With no national strikes in 2023, consumption returned to normal; however, category growth in…

Drinking milk is expected to register moderate current value and volume growth. However, inflation is still an issue and consumers are expected to continue to be highly price sensitive and prioritise value for money. Flavoured milk drinks is expected…

While current value sales are expected to increase, volume sales are expected to register a marginal fall, as rising prices, as well as lower local production, has an impact. Increased costs for feed, fertilisers and fuel has forced some dairy…

The cow’s milk segment continues to see significant price increase in 2023 driven by the rising cost of production, including fertiliser and utility prices, distribution and inflation. Milk products have been amongst the most impacted within the…

The dairy products and alternatives industry continues to experience significant increases, including rising costs for animal feed, consequently creating a worrying situation for dairy farmers and how they operate. As the expenses associated with…

As inflation impacted the Brazilian economy, the price of milk experienced a significant increase, leading to up to an 80% hike. This surge in prices put pressure on the disposable incomes of Brazilian consumers, making milk unaffordable for many…

In 2023, Bolivian society again resumed daily life as it was before the pandemic, with people out and about more, as a result. This is expected to result in less drinking milk being consumed at home and this is expected to dampen volume sales,…

In 2022, the government replaced the national programme Precios Cuidados with Precios Justos; an agreement between the government and leading companies to provide lower-price alternatives to consumers. The main difference between Precios Cuidados…

In 2023, dairy products and alternatives registered modest growth in volume terms, following a contraction in 2022. The poor performance in both years can be partly explained by a conflict between the leading company Cooperativa Nacional de…

The dairy sector continues to be under strain in Peru in 2023 and while current value is expected to grow, volume sales are expected to fall, dragged down by the weak performance of evaporated milk, which is Peru’s most popular dairy product. This…

Sales of dairy products and alternatives are set to register marginal growth in 2023. Despite the resumption of society in the wake of the pandemic, the consumer base for dairy products and alternatives remains small, comprised of the growing middle…

High inflation led to significant unit price rises in dairy products and alternatives during 2023 putting pressure on household incomes. This in turn forced consumers to adopt a more conservative approach to their spending. Manufacturers were also…

In 2023 consumers have remained cautious with their spending due to prevailing economic uncertainty. This has resulted in households prioritising essential products and limiting their consumption of non-essentials. Many dairy products are perceived…

In spite of rising costs and prices in recent years, sales of dairy products and alternatives have continued to grow in real value terms in Latin America. The essential nature of products like cheese has helped maintain demand for them, while sales…

Sales of dairy products and alternatives maintained steady growth in Honduras in 2023, benefiting from the return of parents to the workplace and children to their places of education and subsequent boost in impulse purchases. While the market…

Dairy products and alternative is expected to register current value and volume growth, though inflation continues to hit companies’ profitability, with constant value sales expected to fall.

Sales of dairy products and alternatives achieved only moderate growth in 2023. However, the market was affected by inflationary pressures, particularly in the prices of imported products such as milk formula, a category that is solely dependent on…

Dairy products has been negatively impacted by the recent social problems that the country has endured. In mid-2022, an 18-day national strike greatly complicated the logistics chain. As milk is a perishable item, much of the industry’s raw material…

The picture is expected to be positive for dairy products and alternatives in 2023, with overall current value and volume sales expected to rise moderately. While inflation remains high, pressure is expected to ease. In addition, the appreciation of…

It is expected to be an improving picture in 2023 in dairy in Costa Rica. Current value sales are expected to increase, along with a slight increase in volume sales. While there is still economic uncertainty, as a result of rising inflation, the…

Dairy products and alternatives is recording another year of sluggish retail volume growth in 2023, in response to low production and supply chain issues. High transport costs, the increase in the price of raw materials and worker shortages have…

2023 has undoubtfully been challenging for dairy products and alternatives in Chile, mostly in terms of volume growth, because due to high inflation rates that the country is experiencing, value growth is offsetting the strong reduction in volumes.…

The Brazilian dairy industry has experienced a challenging scenario in recent years, marked by concerns over the exit of medium and small dairy producers, and a decline in the dairy cattle population. This trend is primarily driven by the absence of…

Bolivia has managed to protect itself to a large extent from inflation by continuing to have a fixed exchange rate against the dollar. Besides the fixed exchange rate, Bolivia’s subsidies for key products have also helped keep inflation low. However,…

In 2023, retail volume sales of dairy products and alternatives is expected to decline in most categories. The poor performance is the consequence of high sales levels reached in 2020, due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and home seclusion, with many…

The briefing introduces the Cities Households Necessities Spending Index. The index ranks 1,075 cities by household expenditure on non-discretionary items, namely food, housing, and clothing and footwear. This analysis focuses on 160 major cities.…

Per capita cheese consumption in Uruguay is among the highest in Latin America and the world, due to its long tradition of cheese production. After a soft contraction in 2022, retail volume sales is expected to achieve positive growth in 2023.…

While current value sales of cheese is expected to grow in 2023, constant value sales are expected to fall. This weak performance is reflected in the economy, which contracted in the first half of 2023. An unpopular government, bad weather, high…

Cheese has been the most dynamic category in dairy in current value and retail volume terms in 2023. The shift from unpackaged to packaged formats is an important driver of this trend, but also the positioning of cheese as an affordable source of…

Retail value sales of cheese slowed markedly in 2021, following the year-earlier growth spike due to Coronavirus (COVID-19), but remained at higher levels than prior to the pandemic. Although the pandemic has hit some consumers’ disposable incomes,…

Cheese is expected to be one of the strongest performing dairy products in 2023, with double-digit value growth, as well as healthy volume growth. Lower-income buyers continue to consume unpackaged soft cheese (usually unbranded), which is available…

Queso fresco (fresh cheese) is the most consumer cheese in Ecuador. In this category, the participation of the informal industry is very pronounced as cheese consumption is very regional. Each area is accustomed to the type of cheese that is produced…

Cheese is expected to register moderate current value and volume growth. However, inflation is still an issue and consumers are expected to continue to be highly price sensitive and prioritise value for money. This price sensitivity is expected to…

Current value sales are expected to increase, along with a slight increase in volume sales. While there is still economic uncertainty, as a result of rising inflation, the growth in inflation is expected to ease. That being said, consumers are…

Soft cheese is witnessing the strongest increase in current value sales in 2023, with retail price inflation largely responsible for the growth. Since the end of 2022, price increases have also been exacerbated by a reduction in supplies of soft…

Raw milk is a fundamental ingredient in cheese production, and when the cost of this ingredient increases, producers face numerous challenges that can lead to significant setbacks. There are several reasons that link the increasing cost of raw milk…

Amongst the key categories within dairy, cheese stands out as one of the primary products derived from pure milk. Given its significance in the dairy chain, this category has been one of the most affected by significant structural changes imposed on…

In 2023, cheese consumption continues to grow in Bolivia, encouraged by higher levels of milk production, with much of the overcapacity being channelled for cheese production. While prices are expected to rise for cheese, they are not expected to be…

Soft and hard cheese registered a positive current retail volume growth in 2022, with sales of soft cheese continuing performing better than hard. Rising consumer price sensitivity is set to see soft cheese volume sales outgrow hard cheese sales into…

Butter and spreads registered a modest increase in retail volume terms in 2022 and a similar performance is expected in 2023. As a mature category, there is little room for growth in butter and spreads. However, the category experienced high demand…

Even though consumers are increasingly aware of the health benefits of butter, margarine and spreads continues to account for most volume sales and registers the highest value and volume growth in 2023. Consumers are price sensitive, as the economy…

In 2023, inflationary pressures have had a noticeable impact on the price of butter and spreads. This has encouraged some consumers to shift towards lower priced options such as cooking oils which resulted in a slowdown in the growth of butter and…

Butter and spreads is expected to register moderate current value growth, but constant value sales are expected to fall as persistent inflation cuts into profitability. In addition, with persistent inflation, consumers are expected to trade down –…

Butter consumption in Ecuador is relatively low compared to other countries in the region. This is due in part to the availability of cheaper alternatives such as margarine, which are more commonly used for both cooking and baking. Margarine has a…