Milk production in Brazil reaches record 36.7 billion liters in 2025

Milk production in the country reached a record 36.7 billion liters in 2025, an increase of 2.7% compared to the previous year.

The result is the third consecutive year of expansion and was achieved despite a 2.7% drop in the number of cows milked in the period, totaling 14.7 million animals.

The data, which reveals an increase in productivity, is part of the Municipal Livestock Survey, released this Wednesday (30) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

The institute points out that the total number of cows milked is the lowest since 1979 (14.9 million heads). The record is from 2011, with 23.2 million. Since then, the country has shown a downward trend in this number.

On the production side, 2025 boasted the second consecutive record. In 2024, production stood at 35.7 billion liters.

Productivity

The relationship between production and number of cows milked shows an increase in productivity on dairy farms for the third year in a row.

From 2024 to 2025, productivity grew 5.6%, reaching a record of 2,498.7 liters per cow. According to IBGE, the expansion can be explained by:

Favorable climatic conditions;

Investment in genetic improvement of the herd;

Process of optimizing and reorganizing the production base, which includes the departure of producers (mainly those less specialized or with few resources).

The research analyst, Octavio Costa de Oliveira, explains that the replacement of producers happens because livestock farming requires investment in labor and technology. “Large producers have the capacity to make these investments,” he says.

South leads productivity

The IBGE survey shows that the South region leads the national productivity ranking, where a cow produced, on average, 4.3 thousand liters of milk in 2025.

Next, there are the Southeast (2.9 thousand liters), Central-West (2 thousand liters), Northeast (1.7 thousand liters) and North (957 liters).

The value of milk production in the country last year (quantity produced multiplied by the average price paid to the producer) was R$89.5 billion (in values ​​from the reference year, that is, without considering inflation during the period), an increase of 2.3% in one year.

The average price per liter was R$2.44, with no change compared to 2024.

The IBGE found that 75.2% of the milk produced was directed to the industry. The remainder went to destinations such as self-consumption and the production of artisanal cheeses.

Brazil is the sixth largest milk producer in the world and has the third largest herd of milked cows.

Producing locations

As well as leading the productivity ranking, the South region is also the largest milk producer in the country, accounting for 34% of the national total. Very close comes the Southeast, with 33.5%. Following are the Northeast (18%), Central-West (9.8%) and North (4.6%).

Of the five largest producing states, three are southern, but the leadership belongs to Minas Gerais. While the entire country produced 36.7 billion liters, miners alone accounted for 10.1 billion.

Five states that produced the most milk in 2025 (in billions of liters):

Minas Gerais: 10.1

Paraná: 4.8

Rio Grande do Sul: 4.2

Santa Catarina: 3.4

Goiás: 2.9

Among the cities, the leader is Castro, with 76 thousand inhabitants, in the Campos Gerais region, around two and a half hours by car from Curitiba. In 2025, Castro produced 532.8 million liters of milk.

See the ten municipalities that are champions in milk production (in millions of liters):

Castro (PR): 532.8

Carambeí (PR): 306.8

Patos de Minas (MG): 249.2

Sponsorship (MG): 178.7

Lagoa Formosa (MG): 161.1

Coromandel (MG): 150.3

Orizona (GO): 138.0

Arapoti (PR): 137.2

Itaíba (PE): 133.7

Poço Redondo (SE): 130.6

Record livestock production

The IBGE survey provides information on various livestock productions, such as cattle, chickens, pigs, goats, and aquaculture, such as fish and shrimp. Products such as honey, wool and eggs are also calculated.

According to the survey, the value of production was a record in 2025, reaching R$141.2 billion, which represents an expansion of 6.2% compared to 2024. The result was driven by the production of cow's milk, which represented 63.4% of the total value.

The total number of chickens (roosters, hens, chickens and chicks) was estimated at a record 1.6 billion heads, a number 1.6% higher than in 2024. Specifically, the number of chickens (293.3 million) was also the largest ever recorded.

Brazil produced a record 5.7 billion dozen eggs in 2025, an increase of 5.7% compared to 2024.

For analyst Octavio Costa de Oliveira, the explanation involves greater demand for the product. One element is the fact that eggs are a more affordable substitute for meat protein.

“Depending on income conditions and meat prices, eggs are stronger [in demand]”, he says.

He adds as demand drivers the appeal for healthy eating and the use by the pasta industry.

Fewer heads of cattle

In the opposite direction, the number of cattle fell for the second year in a row, remaining at 234.3 million. This value is the lowest observed since 2022, when the herd was 234.9 million heads.

Octavio Costa de Oliveira explains that this reduction is part of the livestock cycle, with the slaughter of females in previous years, which is reflected in the herd's lower reproductive capacity.

“Sometimes, the producer slaughters his females because the price of meat is attractive and, sometimes, the price of calves to replace this herd is not conducive to replacing the herd.”

São Félix do Xingu, a city of 63.4 thousand inhabitants in the southeast of Pará, remains the municipality with the largest herd: 2.7 million heads.

In 2025, Brazilian exports of fresh beef also set records, with growth of 21.4% in volume and 42.5% in revenue compared to the previous year.

China is the main destination for Brazilian meat, receiving more than half (53.3%) of Brazil's exports.

Other products

Brazil recorded maximum levels in goat and sheep herds in 2025: 13.5 million and 22.3 million, respectively.

Honey production reached 71.3 thousand tons, the highest value ever recorded. Shrimp production reached a record of 172.4 thousand tons. Fish production grew 7.1%, totaling 783 thousand tons, with tilapia representing almost 70% of the total.