Dutch cheese is in great demand outside the EU

In the first 3 quarters, European member states sold 673.000 tons of cheese (excluding the United Kingdom), an increase of 8% compared to the same period last year. With an export volume of 120.000 tons, the Netherlands is the largest European exporter. This volume represents an export value of €560 million, European statistics show. 

The Netherlands is closely followed by Germany, which sold 3 tons in the first 118.000 quarters. Including trade with the British, 971.000 tons were exported by all member states. The British import large volumes of cheese from mainland Europe, all of which will soon have to pass through the customs gate. 

Japan's largest importer 
What is striking is that the export volumes are considerably higher than in other years. This is quite remarkable in view of the corona crisis. After all, the overall trend is that exports are under pressure due to the pandemic. Exports to Japan increased by 13% to 98.078 tons. Japan has thus surpassed the United States as the largest buyer of European cheeses.

The US is the only country within the top 10 destinations where there is a significant decrease, from 17% to 83.869 tons. Other relatively large customers, such as Switzerland, South Korea and Saudi Arabia, all purchased larger volumes. The fact that sales to Japan are on the rise is thanks to the trade agreement that the EU concluded with the Asian country a few years ago. As a result, import duties have fallen significantly, causing cheese prices to reportedly be up to 30% lower than before. 

Fraction of the whole
Although European cheeses are in high demand on the world market, the good export figures deserve a comment. The cheese market is mainly European. In 3 quarters, the Netherlands produced 713.000 tons, of which 'only' 15% is sold outside the continent. The European cheese trade has been hit hard by the lockdowns, resulting in significant price drops. 

In addition, cheese production across all European member states has increased by 2%. Dutch cheese production even grew by more than 4%. In short: under normal circumstances, growing cheese sales outside Europe are an opportunity, but in times of corona the volumes are not enough to relieve the entire market.