Dairy Processing - June 2021 - 56

COMMODITIES OUTLOOK
CHEESE
MARKET
stabilizes
T
by Nate Donnay | Nate.Donnay@stonex.com
here have been some dramatic shifts in the types of
cheese being produced in the United States over the
past 18 months. There has been a dramatic shift in the
amount of cheese being produced as well. There are a number
of factors that are driving the shifts in cheese production from
the pandemic, government programs, additional tariffs on
cheese imports from the European Union (EU) as well as new
cheese processing capacity that has come online.
There are reportedly more than 300 types of cheese
produced in the United States. The US Department of
Agriculture (USDA) tracks production for about 20 major
varieties of cheese. Amazingly, Americans ate about 38.5
lbs of cheese for every man, woman and child last year. Per
capita mozzarella consumption was about 12.3 lbs per person,
making it the largest single variety of cheese produced and
consumed in the United States followed by cheddar at 11.5
lbs. The next largest category is " other American varieties, "
which includes Colby, Jack and Monterey style cheeses.
Cheddar plus these other American varieties together are
typically referred to as American cheese.
Approximately 45% of cheese was being consumed through
foodservice before the pandemic. When restaurant sales
collapsed at the start of the pandemic, cheese demand did,
too. Cheese makers saw the collapse in demand and reduced
56 JUN 2021 | DAIRYPROCESSING.COM
production. From 2012 to 2019 cheese production grew at a
compound annual rate of 2.7%. But production for 2020 was only
up 0.6%. American style cheese production actually continued
to grow at the normal pace. If you look at the retail dairy case, it
leans heavily toward blocks, slices and shreds of American style
cheeses. As Americans shifted their food purchases away from
foodservice and toward retail it helped American-style cheeses
relative to Italian and specialty style cheeses.
The government also stepped-up purchases in an effort
to provide food to people in need and support farm gate
milk prices during the pandemic. Cheese moving through
government programs like Section 32 purchases, the Farmers
to Families Food Box program and purchases made with
funds allocated in the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economics
Security Act (CARES) tilted toward American varieties and
helped to support the production growth.
Despite strong sales across the major pizza chains in 2020,
production of Italian cheeses was mostly lower. Mozzarella
production, the most consumed cheese in the United States,
was down 1.2%. In the past 47 years there were only two other
years when mozzarella production declined, 1993 and 2008.
It is truly rare to see a drop in mozzarella production, but
the shift to eating breakfast at home boosted cream cheese
consumption with production up 7.9%.
As foodservice picks back up, cheese
sales head back to pre-pandemic norms.
©Sergey Ryzhov - stock.adobe.com
http://www.DAIRYPROCESSING.COM
Dairy Processing - June 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Dairy Processing - June 2021
