Top exporters of cheese worldwide in 2023

In 2023, Germany was the largest exporter of cheese worldwide with exports amounting to a value of of 6.5 billion U.S. dollars, followed by the Netherlands with 5.7 billion dollars in cheese exports. 

Cheese production worldwide

In the dairy industry, cheese production ranks second after cow milk in terms of production volume: in 2021, approximately 544 million metric tons of cow milk were produced, compared to about 21.86 million metric tons of cheese. The European Union was the major global producer of cheese in 2021, with over 10.35 million metric tons of cheese produced in the EU-27. The United States came second with a cheese production volume of 6.2 million metric tons. Wisconsin and California were the two leading U.S. states for cheese production in 2021.

Cheese consumption worldwide

Per capita cheese consumption in the EU-27 was the highest in the world, followed by the United States and Canada. Per capita consumption of cheese in the European Union reached 20.44 kilograms in 2021. In France, a country renowned for its cheese culture, the per capita consumption was much higher than the EU average and reached 26.8 kilograms in 2019. Popular French cheeses include Camembert, Brie, Comté, Roquefort and Bleu d’Auvergne.