The overall value of cheese imports increased by 20% for all importing countries since 2017 when international purchases of cheese were valued at $30.5 billion.
Year over year, globally imported cheese recorded a 9.5% gain from $33.4 billion during 2020.
The 5 biggest cheese importers in 2021 form a cohort of European buyer countries namely Germany, France, Italy, United Kingdom, and Belgium. Collectively, that subgroup bought 37.1% of worldwide spending on imported cheese during 2021.
From a continental perspective, suppliers in European countries bought the highest dollar worth of imported cheese during 2021 with purchases costing $25.3 billion or 69.2% of the global total. In second place were Asian importers at 16.6% while another 6.8% of cheese imported worldwide was delivered to North America.
Smaller percentages were sold to Latin America (3.7%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, Africa (1.9%) and Oceania (1.8%) led by Australia.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for cheese and curd is 0406.
Cheese Imports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that imported the highest dollar value worth of cheese during 2021.
- Germany: US$5.1 billion (14% of total imported cheese)
- France: $2.4 billion (6.5%)
- Italy: $2.1 billion (5.8%)
- United Kingdom: $2 billion (5.5%)
- Belgium: $1.9 billion (5.3%)
- United States: $1.54 billion (4.2%)
- Netherlands: $1.52 billion (4.2%)
- Spain: $1.34 billion (3.7%)
- Russia: $1.3 billion (3.6%)
- Japan: $1.28 billion (3.5%)
- China: $813.2 million (2.2%)
- Sweden: $738.2 million (2%)
- Saudi Arabia: $728.8 million (2%)
- South Korea: $685.4 million (1.9%)
- Austria: $652.5 million (1.8%)
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing markets for cheese since 2020 were: mainland China (up 37.8%), United States of America (up 24.8%), Belgium (up 17.4%) and France (up 14.2%).
The United Kingdom ranks as the lone top supplier to post a decline in its purchases of imported cheese purchases via a -8.6% reduction.
By value, the listed 15 countries purchased 66.1% of all cheese imported in 2021.
Cheese Imports into Germany
Germany’s global purchases of imported cheese totaled US$5.11 billion in 2021. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which Germany imported the highest dollar value worth of cheese during 2021. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2020 to 2021.
- Netherlands: US$1.4 billion (up 7.1% from 2020)
- France: $925.7 million (up 3%)
- Italy: $694.7 million (up 13.4%)
- Austria: $458.9 million (up 15.7%)
- Switzerland: $398.7 million (up 10.7%)
- Denmark: $355.8 million (up 1.8%)
- Greece: $202.9 million (up 11.8%)
- Ireland: $137.7 million (up 11.9%)
- Poland: $91.8 million (up 5.5%)
- Belgium: $82.4 million (up 28%)
- Luxembourg: $53.2 million (up 9.9%)
- United Kingdom: $50.7 million (down -34.5%)
- Slovakia: $49.6 million (up 11.1%)
- Latvia: $43.9 million (up 4.7%)
- Spain: $39.6 million (up 1.3%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 98.5% of cheese imported by Germany in 2021.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of cheese to Germany since 2020 were: Belgium (up 28%), Austria (up 15.7%), Italy (up 13.4%) and Ireland (up 11.9%).
The United Kingdom was the lone top supplier to experience a decline in the value of their cheese supplied to German importers via a -34.5% reduction.
Overall, the value of Germany’s imported cheese rose by an average 7.6% from all supplying countries since 2020 when cheese purchased cost $4.7 billion.
Cheese Imports into France
France’s global purchases of imported cheese totaled US$2.38 billion in 2021. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which France imported the highest dollar value worth of cheese during 2021. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2020 to 2021.
- Italy: US$805.5 million (up 16.7% from 2020)
- Netherlands: $450.7 million (up 4.9%)
- Germany: $392.4 million (up 20.2%)
- Belgium: $135 million (up 2%)
- United Kingdom: $125.8 million (up 32.8%)
- Spain: $116.1 million (down -0.7%)
- Ireland: $80.3 million (up 65.7%)
- Switzerland: $67.9 million (up 21%)
- Greece: $50.6 million (up 39.6%)
- Denmark: $45 million (up 8%)
- France: $42.9 million (down -11.5%)
- Poland: $12.8 million (up 47.3%)
- Austria: $8.3 million (up 19%)
- Luxembourg: $8.2 million (up 14.2%)
- Hungary: $7.6 million (up 0.8%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 98.6% of cheese imported by France in 2021.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of cheese to France since 2020 were: Ireland (up 65.7%), Poland (up 47.3%), Greece (up 39.6%) and the United Kingdom (up 32.8%).
Two top suppliers experienced declines in the value of their cheese supplied to French importers namely France (down -11.5%) and Spain (down -0.7%).
Overall, the value of France’s imported cheese grew by an average 14.2% from all supplying countries since 2020 when cheese purchased cost $2.1 billion.
Cheese Imports into Italy
Italy’s global purchases of imported cheese totaled US$2.13 billion in 2021. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which Italy imported the highest dollar value worth of cheese during 2021. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2020 to 2021.
- Germany: US$952.3 million (up 15.8% from 2020)
- France: $198.5 million (up 8.2%)
- Netherlands: $168.2 million (up 7.7%)
- Belgium: $136.8 million (up 11%)
- Czech Republic: $125.7 million (up 26.8%)
- Lithuania: $103.9 million (up 31.3%)
- Spain: $76.1 million (down -3.1%)
- Poland: $72.8 million (up 25%)
- Switzerland: $63.5 million (up 5%)
- Greece: $60.1 million (up 7.8%)
- Austria: $54.9 million (down -3.5%)
- Hungary: $25.3 million (down -34.3%)
- Denmark: $20.5 million (up 26.9%)
- Slovenia: $13.3 million (down -12.9%)
- Romania: $13.1 million (up 39.7%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 97.9% of cheese imported by Italy in 2021.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of cheese to Italy since 2020 were: Romania (up 39.7%), Lithuania (up 31.3%), Denmark (up 26.9%) and Czech Republic (up 26.8%).
Four top suppliers experienced declines in the value of their cheese supplied to Italian importers namely Hungary (down -34.3%), Slovenia (down -12.9%), Austria (down -3.5%) and Spain (down -3.1%).
Overall, the value of Italy’s imported cheese increased by an average 11.7% from all supplying countries since 2020 when cheese purchased cost $1.9 billion.
Cheese Imports into the United Kingdom
United Kingdom’s global purchases of imported cheese totaled US$2.01 billion in 2021. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which the U.K. imported the highest dollar value worth of cheese during 2021. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2020 to 2021.
- Ireland: US$445.2 million (down -19.5% from 2020)
- France: $310.4 million (up 5.2%)
- Italy: $302.3 million (down -1.5%)
- Belgium: $189.2 million (up 109.7%)
- Denmark: $151.5 million (down -6.8%)
- Germany: $129.6 million (down -40.9%)
- Cyprus: $128.4 million (down -10.6%)
- Netherlands: $75.8 million (down -57.3%)
- Poland: $73.3 million (up 27.8%)
- Greece: $59.5 million (down -7.2%)
- Spain: $43.6 million (up 62.7%)
- Slovakia: $22.8 million (down -32.6%)
- Switzerland: $20 million (up 44.5%)
- Austria: $13.4 million (down -10.4%)
- Sweden: $11.1 million (up 66.6%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 98.1% of cheese imported by the United Kingdom in 2021.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of cheese to the UK since 2020 were: Belgium (up 109.7%), Sweden (up 66.6%), Spain (up 62.7%) and Switzerland (up 44.5%).
Suppliers that experienced the severest declines in the value of their cheese supplied to UK importers included: Netherlands (down -57.3%), Germany (down -40.9%), Slovakia (down -32.6%) and Ireland (down -19.5%).
Overall, the value of United Kingdom’s imported cheese declined by an average -8.6% from all supplying countries since 2020 when cheese purchased cost $2.2 billion.
Searchable List of Cheese Importer Countries in 2021
The 100 key buyers of imported cheese featured in the automated database below purchased 98.9% of the overall value for cheese imports during 2021.
| Rank | Importer | Cheese Imports | 2020-1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Germany | $5,108,332,000 | +7.6% |
| 2. | France | $2,383,477,000 | +14.2% |
| 3. | Italy | $2,129,332,000 | +11.7% |
| 4. | United Kingdom | $2,013,641,000 | -8.6% |
| 5. | Belgium | $1,934,430,000 | +17.4% |
| 6. | United States | $1,537,289,000 | +24.8% |
| 7. | Netherlands | $1,524,915,000 | +8.5% |
| 8. | Spain | $1,335,476,000 | +13.1% |
| 9. | Russia | $1,300,560,000 | +6.4% |
| 10. | Japan | $1,284,879,000 | +0.6% |
| 11. | China | $813,235,000 | +37.8% |
| 12. | Sweden | $738,165,000 | +7.3% |
| 13. | Saudi Arabia | $728,791,000 | +6.7% |
| 14. | South Korea | $685,416,000 | +9% |
| 15. | Austria | $652,494,000 | +12% |
| 16. | Greece | $580,536,000 | +18% |
| 17. | Mexico | $546,489,000 | +2.4% |
| 18. | Australia | $536,693,000 | +5.9% |
| 19. | Switzerland | $533,747,000 | +10.6% |
| 20. | Poland | $503,006,000 | +19.1% |
| 21. | Czech Republic | $491,389,000 | +14.1% |
| 22. | Romania | $449,102,000 | +22.8% |
| 23. | Denmark | $442,412,000 | +12.5% |
| 24. | Canada | $401,916,000 | +17.8% |
| 25. | Luxembourg | $331,132,000 | +17.3% |
| 26. | Finland | $319,692,000 | +4.9% |
| 27. | Chile | $298,989,000 | +46.9% |
| 28. | Portugal | $283,155,000 | +18.7% |
| 29. | Hungary | $281,298,000 | +11% |
| 30. | United Arab Emirates | $275,937,000 | -15.7% |
| 31. | Slovakia | $269,619,000 | +19.4% |
| 32. | Ireland | $259,637,000 | -17.5% |
| 33. | Ukraine | $256,320,000 | +21.8% |
| 34. | Iraq | $242,406,000 | -17.3% |
| 35. | El Salvador | $204,649,000 | +15.5% |
| 36. | Taiwan | $181,999,000 | +15.1% |
| 37. | Malaysia | $177,374,000 | +8.2% |
| 38. | Philippines | $160,993,000 | +28.9% |
| 39. | Croatia | $153,373,000 | +27.1% |
| 40. | Norway | $152,971,000 | +18.4% |
| 41. | Indonesia | $139,208,000 | +17.7% |
| 42. | Libya | $137,349,000 | +30.5% |
| 43. | Brazil | $136,633,000 | +9% |
| 44. | Morocco | $136,237,000 | +15.3% |
| 45. | Bulgaria | $133,729,000 | +32% |
| 46. | Slovenia | $133,308,000 | +12.4% |
| 47. | Egypt | $133,215,000 | +11.6% |
| 48. | Kuwait | $128,283,000 | -36.1% |
| 49. | Dominican Republic | $123,681,000 | +33.1% |
| 50. | Kazakhstan | $121,324,000 | +19.7% |
| 51. | Jordan | $117,711,000 | -6.4% |
| 52. | Singapore | $111,303,000 | +0.9% |
| 53. | Hong Kong | $108,845,000 | +11.9% |
| 54. | Guatemala | $93,987,000 | +18.8% |
| 55. | Israel | $91,982,000 | +20.8% |
| 56. | Thailand | $90,547,000 | +7.3% |
| 57. | Algeria | $89,659,000 | -23.5% |
| 58. | Lithuania | $84,663,000 | +21.6% |
| 59. | Latvia | $77,858,000 | +12.8% |
| 60. | Panama | $73,652,000 | +2.9% |
| 61. | Bahrain | $72,885,000 | -24.8% |
| 62. | New Zealand | $72,703,000 | +17.7% |
| 63. | Oman | $71,676,000 | -21.1% |
| 64. | Lebanon | $65,200,000 | -11.5% |
| 65. | Cyprus | $63,801,000 | +10.6% |
| 66. | Yemen | $58,219,000 | -14.5% |
| 67. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $55,761,000 | +25% |
| 68. | Serbia | $53,779,000 | +33.8% |
| 69. | Vietnam | $51,727,000 | -1.8% |
| 70. | Estonia | $50,812,000 | +15.2% |
| 71. | Peru | $48,192,000 | +33% |
| 72. | Trinidad/Tobago | $46,487,000 | +9.5% |
| 73. | Qatar | $43,027,000 | -41.7% |
| 74. | South Africa | $40,222,000 | +20.9% |
| 75. | Malta | $38,167,000 | +13.5% |
| 76. | Colombia | $35,628,000 | +18.2% |
| 77. | Azerbaijan | $33,179,000 | +3.9% |
| 78. | Turkey | $33,025,000 | -4.9% |
| 79. | Moldova | $32,933,000 | +30.5% |
| 80. | Belarus | $31,734,000 | +27% |
| 81. | Mauritius | $29,873,000 | +0.3% |
| 82. | Honduras | $29,631,000 | +38.3% |
| 83. | North Macedonia | $29,070,000 | +16% |
| 84. | Costa Rica | $28,776,000 | +6.4% |
| 85. | Jamaica | $25,784,000 | +15.7% |
| 86. | New Caledonia | $21,958,000 | +5.2% |
| 87. | Cuba | $20,794,000 | +74.8% |
| 88. | Paraguay | $18,930,000 | +7.8% |
| 89. | French Polynesia | $18,745,000 | -4.1% |
| 90. | Albania | $18,091,000 | +51.6% |
| 91. | Montenegro | $17,722,000 | +43% |
| 92. | Maldives | $16,721,000 | +126.8% |
| 93. | Uzbekistan | $15,806,000 | +83.2% |
| 94. | Sri Lanka | $15,498,000 | +17.5% |
| 95. | Aruba | $15,287,000 | +26.3% |
| 96. | Tunisia | $14,769,000 | -1.7% |
| 97. | Georgia | $13,936,000 | +25% |
| 98. | Argentina | $13,802,000 | +168.3% |
| 99. | Namibia | $13,476,000 | +10.3% |
| 100. | Uruguay | $13,436,000 | -3% |
Focusing on the top 100 most valuable cheese importers, the fastest increases belong to Argentina (up 168.3% from 2020), Maldives (up 126.8%), Uzbekistan (up 83.2%) then Cuba (up 74.8%).
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the above table’s columns. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that 2020 data was unavailable.
See also Cheese Exports by Country, Top Milk Imports by Country, Top Pasta Exporters by Country, Tomatoes Exports by Country and Onions Exports by Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Imports – Commodities. Accessed on August 1, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on August 1, 2022
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on August 1, 2022
Wikipedia, Cheese. Accessed on August 1, 2022
