New year, new highs for commercial milk and cream sales

Canada’s dairy processors have been selling more amounts of various milk and cream products to retailers and distributors as the calendar turned to 2024—some of them at highs not seen in recent months or even years.

Statistics Canada has been tracking commercial sales of 12 categories of milk and cream products since 1977 to assist in the development, administration and evaluation of dairy policies. Let’s have a look at some of the recent numbers and how they stack up historically.

Five-year sales high for 2%, standard milk continues upward trend

In January 2024, commercial sales of 2% milk reached 108,433 kilolitres (kL), the second straight monthly increase and the highest since 114,299 kL were sold in October 2020.

The 149,597 kL of 2% sold in October 1987 remains the highest monthly amount on record. From January 1986 to January 1990, monthly sales only dipped below 130,000 kL five times.

The 43,330 kL of standard milk (containing 3.25% or more butterfat) sold in January 2024 was the highest amount since January 1993 (43,728 kL). However, you’d have to go back to December 1977 for the record high of 90,721 kL, which was followed by a general decline in sales over the next four decades.

Recent highs in sales for 1%, skim, and chocolate and other flavoured milk

In contrast, sales of 1% milk have trended up historically—from a low of 9,870 kL in February 1990 to a high of 58,320 kL in October 2010. The 33,211 kL sold in January 2024 is the highest since March 2022 (33,693 kL).

Sales of skim milk went from a low of 6,161 kL in August 1981 to a high of 26,770 kL in October 2007. The 10,300 kL sold in January 2024 was the highest since October 2022 (10,663 kL).

The 15,874 kL of chocolate and other flavoured milk sold in January 2024 was the highest since 16,355 kL were sold in October 2020. A record 22,841 kL were sold in April 2015.

Cream sales up in two of four categories

There were 10,380 kL of cereal cream sold in January 2024, the highest amount since December 2021 (10,457 kL). The 1,080 kL of light cream sold in January 2024 was the most sold since December 2022 (1,112 kL).

In contrast, the 11,486 kL of table cream and 4,434 kL of whipping cream sold in February 2024 were both down for the second consecutive month. The highest amount on record for table cream was 14,882 kL (October 2019); for cereal cream, 12,475 kL (December 2014); for whipping cream, 6,449 kL (October 2017); and for light cream, 2,251 kL (January 2018).

Less milk available

Our annual food availability program measures the amount of food physically available for consumption. In 2022, there were 29.90 litres (L) of 2% milk available per Canadian, down from 2021 and the record of 62.68 L set in 1988.

The 11.18 L of standard milk available per Canadian in 2022 was down from 2021 and a record of 72.78 L in 1960. The per-Canadian availabilities in 2022 of 1% (9.70 L), skim (3.06 L), and chocolate and other flavoured milk (4.36 L) were all down on a per-capita basis from 2021.

To learn more

For the latest dairy and other agriculture data, visit our Agriculture and Food Statistics hub.

Visit the Monthly Dairy Factory Production and Stocks Survey page for more information on how we collect dairy production data.

Food availability data for 2023 will be released on May 31, 2024.