The overall value of cheese imports increased by 20.7% for all importing countries since 2018 when international purchases of cheese were valued at $32.5 billion.
Year over year, globally imported cheese recorded a 6.3% gain compared to $36.9 billion during 2021.
The 5 biggest cheese importers in 2022 form a cohort of European buyer countries namely Germany, France, Italy, United Kingdom and Belgium. Collectively, that subgroup bought 38% of worldwide spending on imported cheese during 2022.
From a continental perspective, suppliers in European countries bought the highest dollar worth of imported cheese during 2022 with purchases costing $27.2 billion or 69.3% of the global total. In second place were Asian importers at 16.1% while another 7.2% of cheese imported worldwide was delivered to North America.
Smaller percentages were sold to Latin America (3.9%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, Africa (1.8%) and Oceania (1.7%) led by Australia and New Zealand.
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 2022.
- Germany: US$5.3 billion (13.6% of total imported cheese)
- France: $2.7 billion (6.9%)
- Italy: $2.6 billion (6.7%)
- United Kingdom: $2.2 billion (5.7%)
- Belgium: $2 billion (5.1%)
- Netherlands: $1.8 billion (4.7%)
- Spain: $1.7 billion (4.4%)
- United States: $1.6 billion (4.2%)
- Japan: $1.4 billion (3.5%)
- Sweden: $802.4 million (2%)
- South Korea: $792.8 million (2%)
- China: $769.2 million (2%)
- Mexico: $748.3 million (1.9%)
- Greece: $720.4 million (1.8%)
- Austria: $695.8 million (1.8%)
By value, the listed 15 countries purchased 66.3% of all cheese imported in 2022.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing markets for cheese since 2021 were: Mexico (up 36.9%), Spain (up 28.9%), Greece (up 24.1%) and Italy (up 23.4%).
Mainland China posted a decline in imported cheese purchases, pulled down by a -5.4% drop compared to 2021.
Cheese Imports into Germany
Germany’s global purchases of imported cheese totaled US$5.33 billion in 2022. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which Germany imported the highest dollar value worth of cheese during 2022. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2021 to 2022.
- Netherlands: US$1.6 billion (up 11.5% from 2021)
- France: $831.4 million (down -10.5%)
- Italy: $667.2 million (down -5.8%)
- Austria: $495.2 million (up 6.7%)
- Denmark: $444.5 million (up 24%)
- Switzerland: $366.4 million (down -8.1%)
- Greece: $216.8 million (up 4.2%)
- Ireland: $162.4 million (up 17.9%)
- Poland: $105.4 million (up 13.3%)
- Belgium: $98.7 million (up 16.6%)
- Luxembourg: $55 million (up 0.7%)
- United Kingdom: $54 million (up 6.4%)
- Latvia: $53.6 million (up 22%)
- Slovakia: $36.1 million (down -27.1%)
- Spain: $32.8 million (down -19.1%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 98.4% of cheese imported by Germany in 2022.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of cheese to Germany since 2021 were: Denmark (up 24.0%), Latvia (up 22%), Ireland (up 17.9%) and Belgium (up 16.6%).
Major providers that experienced declines in the value of their cheese supplied to German importers included: Slovakia (down -27.1% from 2021), Spain (down -19.1%), France (down -10.5%) and Switzerland (down -8.1%).
Overall, the value of Germany’s imported cheese rose by an average 3.3% from all supplying countries since 2021 when cheese purchased cost $5.2 billion.
Cheese Imports into France
France’s global purchases of imported cheese totaled US$2.7 billion in 2022. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which France imported the highest dollar value worth of cheese during 2022. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2021 to 2022.
- Italy: US$875.2 million (up 8% from 2021)
- Netherlands: $486.1 million (up 7.7%)
- Germany: $452.8 million (up 15.3%)
- United Kingdom: $185.3 million (up 47.1%)
- Belgium: $158.1 million (up 16.9%)
- Spain: $122.5 million (up 5.5%)
- Ireland: $105.1 million (up 30.7%)
- Switzerland: $64.9 million (down -4.4%)
- Greece: $61.7 million (up 21.8%)
- Denmark: $58.7 million (up 30.5%)
- Poland: $14.6 million (up 12.4%)
- Austria: $9.8 million (up 16.9%)
- Hungary: $9.2 million (up 21%)
- Luxembourg: $6.8 million (down -16.7%)
- Slovakia: $6 million (up 52.8%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 96.9% of cheese imported by France in 2022.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of cheese to France since 2021 were: Slovakia (up 52.8%), United Kingdom (up 47.1%), Ireland (up 30.7%) and Denmark (up 30.5%).
A pair of major suppliers experienced declines in the value of their cheese supplied to French importers, namely Luxembourg (down -16.7% from 2021) and Switzerland (down -4.4%).
Overall, the value of France’s imported cheese increased by an average 13.1% from all supplying countries since 2021 when cheese purchased cost $2.4 billion.
Cheese Imports into Italy
Italy’s global purchases of imported cheese totaled US$2.65 billion in 2022. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which Italy imported the highest dollar value worth of cheese during 2022. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2021 to 2022.
- Germany: US$1.2 billion (up 20.6% from 2021)
- Netherlands: $213 million (up 27.6%)
- France: $210.5 million (up 4.6%)
- Belgium: $159.7 million (up 20.6%)
- Lithuania: $157.2 million (up 53.9%)
- Czech Republic: $155 million (up 28.1%)
- Poland: $116.1 million (up 56.1%)
- Spain: $95.5 million (up 19.7%)
- Greece: $83.4 million (up 21.2%)
- Switzerland: $68.5 million (up 7.9%)
- Austria: $65.5 million (up 9.6%)
- Hungary: $54.1 million (up 109.9%)
- Denmark: $24 million (up 13.3%)
- Slovenia: $17.4 million (up 21.6%)
- Estonia: $15.7 million (up 62.8%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 97.8% of cheese imported by Italy in 2022.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of cheese to Italy since 2021 were: Hungary (up 109.9%), Estonia (up 62.8%), Poland (up 56.1%) and Lithuania (up 53.9%).
France recorded the most modest gain in the value of their cheese supplied to Italian importers, via a 4.6% increase.
Overall, the value of Italy’s imported cheese accelerated by an average 23.4% from all supplying countries since 2021 when cheese purchased cost $2.1 billion.
Cheese Imports into the United Kingdom
United Kingdom’s global purchases of imported cheese totaled US$2.25 billion in 2022. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which the U.K. imported the highest dollar value worth of cheese during 2022. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2021 to 2022.
- Italy: US$383.6 million (up 32.4% from 2021)
- France: $314.1 million (up 2.1%)
- Ireland: $269.8 million (down -37.9%)
- Germany: $219.6 million (up 71.6%)
- Denmark: $218 million (up 44.7%)
- Cyprus: $173.9 million (up 37.1%)
- Netherlands: $169.5 million (up 128.5%)
- Belgium: $113.3 million (down -39.6%)
- Greece: $108.6 million (up 86.1%)
- Poland: $87.6 million (up 22.9%)
- Spain: $50.6 million (up 16.9%)
- Austria: $27.1 million (up 101.5%)
- Slovakia: $21.1 million (down -6.5%)
- Switzerland: $18.6 million (down -6.9%)
- Romania: $17.4 million (up 209.4%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 97.5% of cheese imported by the United Kingdom in 2022.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of cheese to the UK since 2021 were: Romania (up 209.4%), Netherlands (up 128.5%), Austria (up 101.5%) and Greece (up 86.1%).
Four major suppliers experienced declines in the total value of their cheese supplied to UK importers, namely: Belgium (down -39.6% from 2021), Ireland (down -37.9%), Switzerland (down -6.9%) and Slovakia (down -6.5%).
Overall, the value of United Kingdom’s imported cheese went up by an average 14.1% from all supplying countries since 2021 when cheese purchased cost $2 billion.
Searchable List of Cheese Importer Countries in 2022
The 100 key buyers of imported cheese featured in the automated database below purchased 98.9% of the overall value for cheese imports during 2022.
| Rank | Importer | Cheese Imports | 2021-2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Germany | $5,333,449,000 | +3.3% |
| 2. | France | $2,701,629,000 | +13.1% |
| 3. | Italy | $2,647,241,000 | +23.4% |
| 4. | United Kingdom | $2,249,038,000 | +14.1% |
| 5. | Belgium | $1,987,300,000 | +2.7% |
| 6. | Netherlands | $1,832,202,000 | +20.4% |
| 7. | Spain | $1,721,090,000 | +28.9% |
| 8. | United States | $1,640,794,000 | +6.8% |
| 9. | Japan | $1,377,094,000 | +7.2% |
| 10. | Sweden | $802,381,000 | +8.7% |
| 11. | South Korea | $792,750,000 | +15.7% |
| 12. | China | $769,213,000 | -5.4% |
| 13. | Mexico | $748,280,000 | +36.9% |
| 14. | Greece | $720,370,000 | +24.1% |
| 15. | Austria | $695,810,000 | +11.1% |
| 16. | Saudi Arabia | $636,930,000 | -12.6% |
| 17. | Poland | $566,916,000 | +12.7% |
| 18. | Czech Republic | $566,305,000 | +14.8% |
| 19. | Australia | $548,961,000 | +2.3% |
| 20. | Switzerland | $525,827,000 | -1.5% |
| 21. | Romania | $513,533,000 | +14.3% |
| 22. | Slovakia | $511,761,000 | +90.5% |
| 23. | Denmark | $494,164,000 | +14.3% |
| 24. | Canada | $434,385,000 | +8% |
| 25. | Luxembourg | $403,070,000 | +21.7% |
| 26. | Portugal | $358,425,000 | +24.5% |
| 27. | Finland | $331,392,000 | +3.6% |
| 28. | Ireland | $311,054,000 | +17.7% |
| 29. | United Arab Emirates | $308,350,000 | -12.8% |
| 30. | Hungary | $298,621,000 | +7% |
| 31. | Chile | $271,552,000 | -9.2% |
| 32. | Philippines | $218,948,000 | +36% |
| 33. | Taiwan | $193,491,000 | +6.3% |
| 34. | Croatia | $191,621,000 | +24.5% |
| 35. | Malaysia | $182,501,000 | +2.9% |
| 36. | Ukraine | $181,821,000 | -30.1% |
| 37. | El Salvador | $179,271,000 | -12.4% |
| 38. | Dominican Republic | $174,718,000 | +41.3% |
| 39. | Indonesia | $164,463,000 | +18.1% |
| 40. | Brazil | $163,289,000 | +19.5% |
| 41. | Iraq | $159,042,000 | -44% |
| 42. | Kazakhstan | $155,483,000 | +32.9% |
| 43. | Bulgaria | $153,926,000 | +18.1% |
| 44. | Norway | $145,902,000 | -4.6% |
| 45. | Slovenia | $145,773,000 | +9.4% |
| 46. | Libya | $140,358,000 | +0.9% |
| 47. | Morocco | $140,230,000 | +2.9% |
| 48. | Guatemala | $124,100,000 | +32% |
| 49. | Singapore | $121,881,000 | +9.5% |
| 50. | Russia | $119,078,000 | -90.8% |
| 51. | Jordan | $112,055,000 | -16.2% |
| 52. | Lithuania | $107,827,000 | +26.9% |
| 53. | Hong Kong | $105,552,000 | -3% |
| 54. | Thailand | $105,458,000 | +16.5% |
| 55. | Kuwait | $104,499,000 | -47.9% |
| 56. | Latvia | $103,701,000 | +33.1% |
| 57. | Algeria | $102,442,000 | +14.3% |
| 58. | Bahrain | $95,836,000 | +11.3% |
| 59. | Israel | $95,825,000 | +4.2% |
| 60. | Panama | $95,082,000 | +29.1% |
| 61. | Egypt | $94,406,000 | -29.1% |
| 62. | Qatar | $89,991,000 | +48.7% |
| 63. | Lebanon | $88,602,000 | +35.9% |
| 64. | Cyprus | $75,819,000 | +13% |
| 65. | Oman | $71,067,000 | -40.8% |
| 66. | Serbia | $69,472,000 | +29.2% |
| 67. | New Zealand | $69,419,000 | -4.5% |
| 68. | Vietnam | $66,568,000 | +25.1% |
| 69. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $61,091,000 | +9.6% |
| 70. | Estonia | $60,733,000 | +19.5% |
| 71. | Peru | $59,567,000 | +23.6% |
| 72. | Trinidad/Tobago | $51,295,000 | +10.3% |
| 73. | Türkiye | $51,080,000 | +54.7% |
| 74. | Malta | $46,194,000 | +19% |
| 75. | Colombia | $43,504,000 | +22.1% |
| 76. | Honduras | $42,096,000 | +42.1% |
| 77. | South Africa | $41,009,000 | +2% |
| 78. | Moldova | $38,042,000 | +15.5% |
| 79. | Jamaica | $37,871,000 | +48.2% |
| 80. | Mauritius | $37,554,000 | +25.7% |
| 81. | Costa Rica | $34,019,000 | +18.2% |
| 82. | Azerbaijan | $33,121,000 | -0.2% |
| 83. | North Macedonia | $32,309,000 | +8.6% |
| 84. | Uzbekistan | $26,350,000 | +66.7% |
| 85. | Montenegro | $25,832,000 | +45.8% |
| 86. | Yemen | $25,271,000 | -66.7% |
| 87. | Cuba | $24,319,000 | +17% |
| 88. | Argentina | $23,447,000 | +69.9% |
| 89. | French Polynesia | $22,402,000 | +6.9% |
| 90. | Georgia | $20,876,000 | +49.8% |
| 91. | Bahamas | $20,797,000 | +1.9% |
| 92. | New Caledonia | $20,617,000 | -6.1% |
| 93. | Paraguay | $19,976,000 | +5.5% |
| 94. | Maldives | $19,642,000 | +17.5% |
| 95. | Barbados | $19,147,000 | +43.7% |
| 96. | Aruba | $17,167,000 | +12.3% |
| 97. | Namibia | $16,449,000 | +6.6% |
| 98. | Curaçao | $15,695,000 | +15.6% |
| 99. | Uruguay | $15,693,000 | +16.8% |
| 100. | Angola | $14,638,000 | +26.8% |
Focusing on the top 100 most valuable cheese importers, the fastest increases belong to buyers in Slovakia (up 90.5% from 2021), Argentina (up 69.9%), Uzbekistan (up 66.7%), Türkiye (up 54.7%), Georgia (up 49.8%) then Qatar (up 48.7%).
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 2021 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 20, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on August 20, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on August 20, 2023
Wikipedia, Cheese. Accessed on August 20, 2023
