The production of cheese and fresh dairy in Belgium continued to grow last year, with cheese production up 24% on the five-year average, according to Statbel, the Belgian statistics office.
As Statbel noted, Belgian dairies produced 144,000 tonnes of cheese in 2025, with Mozzarella remaining the dominant category – production rose to 90,000 tonnes, accounting for 62% of total Belgian cheese output.
Fresh cheese production also recorded strong growth, increasing by more than 81% compared with the five-year average to reach 25,000 tonnes, while production of goat’s cheese also increased, reaching just under 10,000 tonnes in 2025, up almost 6%.
Fresh dairy products
Fresh dairy products continued to perform strongly, with total production reaching 731 million litres in 2025, 7% above the average recorded over the previous five years. Desserts showed the strongest growth, with production increasing by 15.4% compared with the five-year average, to 130 million litres.
Fermented milk products and cream also posted gains, of 6.7% and 4% respectively, while yoghurt production remained broadly stable.
Despite a continued decline, drinking milk and milk-based beverages remained the largest product category within the Belgian dairy industry. Total production reached 787 million litres in 2025, down 4.9% compared with the five-year average.
Production declines continued across whole milk, semi-skimmed milk, skimmed milk and buttermilk. However, milk drinks showed modest growth, rising by almost 2% compared with the five-year average.
Farm butter production also recovered in 2025, increasing by more than 5% year-on-year to almost 68,000 tonnes.
Milk powder production reached 231,000 tonnes in 2025, up 6.3% compared with 2024, although still 2.2% below the average recorded over the last five years.
‘However, a shift is becoming apparent: production rose across all sub-categories in 2025 compared to 2024,’ Statbel noted.
Cross-border trade
Belgian dairies processed around 4.5 billion litres of milk from domestic and imported sources in 2025, broadly stable compared with the previous year.
The dairy sector also continued to rely heavily on cross-border trade. Belgian dairies imported 443 million litres of milk, 138 million litres of cream and 32 million litres of skimmed milk from neighbouring countries, while exporting 559 million litres of milk and 52 million litres of cream, the data showed. Read more here.
