UK cheese industry missing export opportunity

With cheese imports up 47% year-on-year during the first ten months of 2014, China is rapidly developing an appetite for cheese; however, the UK is failing to take advantage of this opportunity, according to market research firm CCM.

China imported 56,028 tonnes of cheese between January and October 2014, which is substantially higher than the 47,316 tonnes imported during the whole of 2013. However, the UK accounted for just 44 tonnes or 0.08% of these imports, making the UK the 17th biggest exporter of cheese to China, below the likes of Uruguay, Singapore and Ireland.

European cheese makers in general are finding it difficult to grab a large slice of the Chinese cheese market, which is currently dominated by New Zealand, Australia and the US. The total volume of imports from the top five European exporters to China – France, Italy, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands – combined added up to just 4,696 tonnes, less than one fifth of the amount imported from New Zealand (24,013 tonnes).

Compared to the rest of Europe, the UK’s performance was disappointing, with an export volume to China of just 4% of Italy’s total and 2.7% of that of France.