Butter sector profile

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Description

Butter is the smooth, fatty substance obtained from churning cream with fat content of at least 35 per cent. Simple agitation of this cream in machines known as churns ruptures the membranes of fat globules and these globules then group into granules of butter. Because only the milkfat is used, ten litres of whole milk are required to produce 500 g of butter. The majority of butter made in Canada is salted after churning, using sodium chloride during the creaming process. The salt performs two main functions: enhances the taste and prolongs the preservation of the product by inhibiting the growth of microorganisms.

Butteroil is a dairy product which is created by removing the moisture and the non-fat milk solids contained in butter. It is a milk fat-based dairy product in its purest form. In terms of a packaged good, butteroil is an efficient and economical means of transporting and storing butterfat. Butteroil is an ingredient often used in manufacturing due to its convenient form, which makes it easy to incorporate into large-scale recipes. Industries such as chocolate, confectionary, patisserie and ice cream production commonly use butteroil.

Butter is an excellent source of vitamin A since it contains more than 30 International Units (IU) per g and is generally considered to be safe from pathogens. The latter fact is attributed to the low water content of butter, which is a water-in-oil emulsion that contains numerous microscopic droplets of water that are relatively high in sodium chloride concentration. The fat portion of butter is generally safe from microbial degradation.

Canadian Production

Total butter production has fluctuated over the past ten years. In 2015, production was 85,591 metric tonnes (t) and then increased steadily until 2019 when it dropped by 3%. As seen in Figure 1, butter production has decreased between 2021 and 2022, increased in 2023, decrease in 2024 and increase again in 2025. Canadian butter production stand at 115,641 t in 2025. The yearly average production between 2021 and 2025 was 114,815 t.

Figure 1: Canadian Butter Production in Metric Tonnes

Source: Statistics Canada, Calculations done by the Dairy section of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Trade

Canadian imports of butter, fats and oils derived from milk have experienced significant growth, rising from 28,229 t in 2021 to 46,189 t in 2025, a notable increase of 64%. Butter exports increased by 170% during the same period however that is very small volume of 2,730 t in 2025 compared to imports. (See Figure 2).

Figure 2: Butter, fats and oils derived from milk trade in Canada 2021-2025 in Metric Tonnes

Source: Statistics Canada, Calculations done by the Dairy section of AAFC

The USA has been a major source of butter, fats and oils derived from milk imports, with a share of 75% of imported volume in 2025. New Zealand has also been a major player, retaining a substantial share of the import market over the years (See Annex 1).

The Canadian Industry

The main players in the Canadian butter industry include both large and small-scale producers, with a mix of artisanal and industrial practices. Some of the largest players include:

Agropur: This is a dairy cooperative headquartered in Longueuil, Quebec. It is one of the largest dairy cooperatives in North America, with over 3,000 dairy farmers members and 8,400 employees.

Lactalis Canada: This is a subsidiary of Lactalis Group, the world’s largest dairy company based in France. The company employs more than 4,900 people in Canada. 

Saputo Inc.: Saputo is a Montreal-based dairy company that has operations in Canada, the United States, Australia, Argentina and the United Kingdom. The company has 6,000 employees in Canada

Gay Lea Foods: The co-operative has 4,000 members who are dairy farmers or preferred shareholders. Gay Lea employs 1,300 people in Canada.

Consumption trends

As shown in Figure 3 below, Canada’s total butter consumption was at 2.7 kilograms (kg) per person per year in 2015, then it starts increasing to reach a maximum of 3.7 kg per person per year in 2021. After that, it remained relatively stable but decreased in 2024 before rising back to 3.7 kg per capita in 2025, one more kg than ten years ago.

Figure 3: Trends in Annual Butter Consumption in Canada (kg per capita)

Source: Statistics Canada, Calculations done by the Dairy section of AAFC

Between 2021 and 2025 butter price increased by 25% based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) the same rate that all food purchased in stores. In 2021, the minimum monthly average retail price for 454 grams of butter was $4.09 and the maximum was $5.08. The price varied from $5.52 to $5.96 in 2025.

Annex 1: Butter profile data