Headquartered in Hohhot, the capital of China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Yili Group has established itself as China's largest dairy producer and one of the five largest dairy companies in the world.

According to Rabobank's 2025 Global Dairy Top 20, Yili ranked fifth globally by dairy-product sales, retaining the same position it held in the previous edition of the ranking. The ranking is based primarily on companies' dairy revenues and financial results.

Yili recorded estimated 2024 dairy sales of $15.8 billion (€14.3 billion), placing it behind France's Lactalis, Switzerland's Nestlé, the U.S.-based Dairy Farmers of America and France's Danone. Yili's fifth-place position is particularly significant because it makes the company the highest-ranked Chinese dairy producer in the world.

Yili's global ranking is accompanied by an even stronger position in the Asian market. The company has been Asia's No. 1 dairy company for 12 consecutive years and remains China's largest dairy producer, with the broadest range of dairy products in the Chinese market. The company is highly active across all dairy categories, including liquid milk, milk powder, yogurt, ice cream, cheese, and more. Beyond its core dairy sector, the company is continuously evolving its product portfolio and entering new business lines, such as mineral water, plant-based beverages, and lactic acid bacteria drinks.

Yili now operates 77 production bases worldwide, with its products reaching consumers in more than 80 countries and regions. Its international network spans Asia, Europe, Oceania and North America.

Yili has also established 15 research and innovation centres worldwide. The company ranks first in China's dairy industry in terms of both total global patent applications and invention-patent applications.

It is particularly impressing that China's cutting-edge technological achievements are fully integrated into the production process, with all stages of production carried out automatically by robots.

Hayk Sahakyan