The growing exports of European dairy products to West Africa is raising concerns globally with regards to its role in the retarded growth of the dairy sectors in recipient nations. Focusing on consumers, this study examines the influence of product origin on consumer behavior in Ghana and Senegal, two developing countries with high patterns of dairy imports mainly from Europe. A total of 312 and 532 households were sampled for the study in Ghana and Senegal respectively. In the analysis, we used descriptive statistics, Principal Component Analysis, and a logit model. The results show that socio-demographic characteristics, especially age, household size, education and income play crucial roles in the consumption of local, domestic and imported dairy products. Moreover, product origin influence consumer perceptions, and hence preferences. Consumers generally reveal a positive attitude towards local dairy products in both countries. However, final purchase decisions as the study show are to a large extent influenced by product price and availability, encouraging the consumption of imported and domestic products. Milk powder and its domestically processed products obviously play a crucial role in ensuring a reliable access to affordable dairy products in developing countries, and in this facet, their imports are encouraged. However, hygienic handling and processing of local milk in addition to good packaging and labelling are essential.