Which Countries Import the Most Cheese?

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The total value of global cheese imports in 2015 stood at 26.4 billion USD. There was an annual increase of +3.7% for the period from 2007 to 2015. In physical terms, cheese imports reached 6,120 thousand tonnes in 2015, an increase of 165 thousand tonnes (3%) against the previous year.

In 2015, Germany (764 thousand tonnes), Italy (511 thousand tonnes), the U.K. (494 thousand tonnes), the Netherlands (355 thousand tonnes) and France (333 thousand tonnes) were the main destinations for cheese imports, together making up 40% of total imports.

From 2007 to 2015, according to market research conducted by IndexBox, the Netherlands had the highest rates of imports growth, with a CAGR of +8.4%. It was followed by France (+3.8%), Germany (+3.1%), the U.K. (+2.0%), and Italy (+1.8%).

Most of the major importing countries slightly contracted their shares in terms of global cheese imports. The shares of the other countries on the global cheese market remained relatively stable throughout the analyzed period.

The average import price for cheese was 4,230 USD per tonne in 2015. Import prices for cheese decreased by an annual average of -0.7% from 2007 to 2015. However, there were large differences amongst the importing countries and types of cheese. Germany (4,921 USD/tonne), France (4,456 USD/tonne) and Belgium (4,449 USD/tonne) were high priced destinations, while Italy (3,478 USD/tonne) and the Netherlands (3,464 USD/tonne) were amongst the lowest.

Top 5 cheese importing countries in 2015

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• cheese market share
• cheese prices
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• key cheese producers

Source: World: Cheese - Market Report. Analysis And Forecast To 2025