The world sales of milk are increasing. In 2006-2010, the retail sales volume of milk went up by 11.1% from 359 million tons to 399 million tons.  The most significant increase in the sales volume, compared to the previous year, was recorded in 2007, and it equaled 4%. According to BusinesStat estimates, in 2011-2015, the sales volume of milk in the world will continue to grow on the average by 2.3% per annum. By 2015, the sales volume of milk in the world will have amounted to 446 million tons.

The average consumption volume of milk in the world equals 57.2 kilograms. In 2006-2010, the per capita consumption volume in the world went up from 55.2 kilograms per annum to 58.5 kilograms per annum. The main reason of the consumption increase is the upsurge in the per capita consumption in the third world countries.  The greatest growth dynamics of the per capita consumption of milk is registered in India and China. In 2011-2015, the per capita consumption volume of milk in the world will continue to go up. By 2015, the average per capita consumption volume will have reached 61.7 kilograms of milk.

In 2010, milk yield equaled around 708 million tons, which exceeds the 2009 rate by 0.8%. The leading milk manufacturers are India, China, Pakistan, Russia and the USA.  In 2010, the total share of these countries of the overall volume of milk in the world amounted to 43.9%. In 2006-2010, the key manufacturer of milk remained India, which accounted for 16.3% of the milk production in the world.

The dominant kind of milk is cow milk, share of which in the structure of world production equaled 83% in 2010. In 2010, major part of the produced milk (13.2%) was buffalo milk.

At present there is an intense reduction in the livestock of dairy herds in agricultural organizations and private farms. According to BusinesStat estimates, in 2010, the number of cows decreased by 100 thousand head as compared to 2009. In the following years a similar scenario is expected, unless appropriate measures are taken to change the situation in the domestic dairy cattle breeding.

In 2010, production of milk in Russian farms of all categories totaled 32.8 million tons, which is 180.8 thousand tons or 0.6% more than in 2009. The growth was achieved through a sustained increase in milk yield from cows. During the past 5 years the average milk yield per cow in the country peaked in 2010, amounting to almost 3.7 tons per annum. During the period from 2011 to 2015, cow milk production in Russia will increase from 33.0 to 33.7 million tons.

During the period from 2006 to 2007 the volume of milk and cream market in Russia grew by 1.5 %. In 2008, the sales of milk declined by 0.6%. The market growth was stopped by a rise in prices for milk raw materials. The prices, charged by the manufacturers of milk and cream, rose by 16%, and retail prices increased by 5.7%, from 34.7 rubles per kilogram in 2009 to 36.7 rubles per kilogram in 2010. Starting from 2009 the volume of milk and cream sales in Russia has been growing, and in 2015 it will total 5.6 million tons.

The best-selling product in the milk and cream market in Russia is pasteurized milk, which ensures almost 61% of its cost turnover. The second popular product type is sterilized milk, its share amounts to almost 19% of total cost turnover.

The most convenient packaging for both manufacturers and consumers of milk is the carton package. It provides an opportunity to considerably reduce transportation costs as compared to the glass package.