"Changes in this landscape of global dairy trade are occurring slowly but surely, driven to a large extent by political measures as well as by individual company ambitions," the report says. Since 1995 the EU's global market shares have been on the decline for all dairy products except for whey. The report adds that European traders have anticipated this trend by stretching their sourcing network beyond EU borders while European processors are increasingly opting for direct investments in new growth markets instead of addressing these markets through exports.