Chile: Dairy Imports Fall 9.79% in First Quarter

Continuing a trend seen in 2024, Chile's dairy product imports were down in the first quarter of 2025, highlighting unfavorable figures due to decreased demand in key markets like Argentina, the Netherlands, Mexico, and Germany, although this was offset by increased demand in the United States and New Zealand.

According to the Dairy Products Foreign Trade Bulletin, prepared by the Office of Agricultural Studies and Policies of Chile (Odepa) and published by the National Federation of Milk Producers (Fedeleche), the total value of dairy imports from January to March reached $111.8 million, marking a decline of 9.79% compared to the same period last year.

Key Destinations and Product Information

Argentina remains the main supplier of dairy products to Chile, accounting for 24.0% of total imports, equivalent to $26.9 million, reflecting a 12.9% decrease compared to the previous year.

Meanwhile, the Netherlands, ranking fourth, accounted for 9.7% of the total imports, suffering a 33.6% decline from 2024, with shipments totaling $8.5 million.

Mexico represented 7.0% of total imports but experienced a significant 31.8% decrease, bringing in $7.9 million to Chile.

Product Breakdown

Cheeses lead the categories of imported products, representing 61.3% of the total value, amounting to $68.7 million, an 8.8% drop from the previous year.

Other dairy-based preparations, making up 9.0% of the total, increased by 49.2% to $10.2 million, whereas whey, comprising 7.0% of total imports, reached $8.7 million, a reduction of 4.7% from the prior year.