<P> In the remainder of the world, butter is packed and sold in 250g and 500g packs and measured for cooking in grams . </P> <P> Butter for commercial and industrial use is packaged in plastic buckets, tubs, or drums, in quantities and units suited to the local market . </P> <P> In 1997, India produced 1,470,000 metric tons (1,620,000 short tons) of butter, most of which was consumed domestically . Second in production was the United States (522,000 t or 575,000 short tons), followed by France (466,000 t or 514,000 short tons), Germany (442,000 t or 487,000 short tons), and New Zealand (307,000 t or 338,000 short tons). France ranks first in per capita butter consumption with 8 kg per capita per year . In terms of absolute consumption, Germany was second after India, using 578,000 metric tons (637,000 short tons) of butter in 1997, followed by France (528,000 t or 582,000 short tons), Russia (514,000 t or 567,000 short tons), and the United States (505,000 t or 557,000 short tons). New Zealand, Australia, and the Ukraine are among the few nations that export a significant percentage of the butter they produce . </P> <P> Different varieties are found around the world . Smen is a spiced Moroccan clarified butter, buried in the ground and aged for months or years . A similar product is maltash of the Hunza Valley, where cow and yak butter can be buried for decades, and is used at events such as weddings . Yak butter is a specialty in Tibet; tsampa, barley flour mixed with yak butter, is a staple food . Butter tea is consumed in the Himalayan regions of Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal and India . It consists of tea served with intensely flavored--or "rancid"--yak butter and salt . In African and Asian developing nations, butter is traditionally made from sour milk rather than cream . It can take several hours of churning to produce workable butter grains from fermented milk . </P>

Who produces the most butter in the world