The country’s milk production rose to 155 million litres in 2025, significantly reducing the country’s reliance on imports and creating fresh opportunities for local producers to meet growing domestic demand.
Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development minister, Anxious Masuka, said annual milk production increased from less than 17 million litres in 2017 to 155 million litres in 2025, representing more than a nine-fold increase.
“Commercial dairy farmers produced 122 million litres, while our smallholder households contributed 33 million litres.
“This is a clear indication that smallholder farmers are becoming an integral part of Zimbabwe’s dairy value chain and are making a meaningful contribution to national milk production,” said Masuka.
The minister said although production has continued to rise, increasing consumer demand means the country still faces a milk supply deficit that local farmers are well-positioned to address.
“Our domestic demand has grown to approximately 150 million litres,” he said.
“However, when powdered milk imports, equivalent to about 95 million litres of raw milk, are taken into account, Zimbabwe’s total annual milk requirement is estimated at between 220 million and 240 million litres.
“This leaves a supply gap of between 65 million and 85 million litres, which presents significant opportunities for local producers to substitute imports with locally produced milk.”
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Masuka said the government would continue implementing programmes aimed at increasing dairy productivity, improving access to quality breeding stock, expanding irrigation, strengthening feed production and enhancing extension services to support both commercial and smallholder dairy farmers.
The continued growth of Zimbabwe’s dairy industry is expected to strengthen food security, create employment across the dairy value chain and contribute to the country’s broader agricultural transformation agenda.
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