Europe has the highest level of per capita cheese consumption. In 2024, people in the European Union ate on average kilograms of cheese. U.S. and Canada came in second and third in that year at about and kilograms of cheese per capita.
Cheese market in Europe
Europe is a major player in the global cheese industry. The 27 nations of the European Union generated million metric tons of cheese in 2024, almost twice as much as the second leading producer. As of 2024, Germany, tItaly, and the Netherlands were the top exporters of cheese worldwide, each exporting over billion U.S. dollars worth of cheese in that year.
Global cheese consumption
The EU-27 and the United States were the top consumers of cheese worldwide. Per capita cheese consumption in the United States was about pounds in 2023, up from pounds in 2010. Shredded cheese had the highest level of unit sales of any type of cheese in the United States. Shredded cheese is commonly used in dishes such as pizza, quesadillas, and macaroni and cheese.