Abstract: Dairy industry is an important source of income and employment for African people and an important agricultural industry. In 2018,the total output value of African dairy industry was US \$17.122 billion,accounting for 24.0% of the total output value of livestock industry. There are 6752.49 million dairy cows,mainly concentrated in East Africa,North Africa and West Africa. The breeding method is mainly free-range,with an average of only 3 dairy cows. Some varieties are still used mainly,and milk production is only a by-product,with an average yield of 512.8 kg/year and an annual fresh milk output of 34 628 500 tons. Egypt,Kenya and South Africa are major dairy processing countries,accounting for nearly 30% of Africa's fresh milk production. In 2019,consumption of dairy products equivalent to fresh milk was 54.6821 million tons. Fresh milk was the most important consumer category, accounting for more than 60%,followed by milk powder and cheese,accounting for 16% and 15% of the total consumption,respectively. Per capita consumption decreased to 41.74 kg/person per year in 2019. The trade of dairy products has been in the trend of net import for a long time. In 2018,it imported 1.9872 million tons of dairy products,with the import value of us $4.857 billion. North Africa,West Africa and East Africa are the main import regions. African dairy farming has huge space for improvement. Dairy processing has broad prospects. And dairy consumption has huge space for growth. China should further strengthen international cooperation with African dairy industry in dairy farming,dairy processing and dairy trade,so as to promote the dairy industry to go global.

Key words: African dairy industry, dairy products, trade, cooperation