7 Reasons the United States is No. 1 in Cheese

U.S. cheese exports have increased 688% since 2000.

The United States is the world's largest single-country exporter of cheese. Since 2000, sales of U.S. cheese to international customers have grown more than 688%.

What explains this growth? The first reason, production, may seem obvious, but it is a factor other countries can't match. The United States is the leading global producer of cheese, manufacturing more than 5 million metric tons in 2014. That's double the second-place country, Germany.

What else explains the global love affair with U.S. cheese?

1. The United States has the largest supply of cow's milk in the world
2. Year-round milk production, which guarantees consistent product availability
3. An abundance of land, providing an unrestrained capacity to grow as global demand increases
4. Ongoing investments in research and technology, which leads to inventions like IQF, Individually Quick Frozen mozzarella, which locks in freshness and stops the aging process
5. State-of-the-art production facilities regulated by high governmental sanitation and quality standards 
6. Great-tasting cheese, as evidenced by medals at the 2014 World Cheese Awards and the 2014 World Championship Cheese Contest, accounting for 67% of the total medal count

"Whether it is bulk or specialty, international buyers and end-users are increasingly looking to the U.S. for their cheese supply needs," says Hollister. "Opportunities are plentiful for those who would like to expand their horizon." 

For more information on U.S. cheese:

• Visit this section of USDEC's global customer site, ThinkUSAdairy.org, for an expanded explanation, with historical charts, about the advantages of U.S. cheese
• Find the most recent month's U.S. export trade data on cheese and other products on usdec.org
• Request a 2014 USDEC research report on the growing processed cheese manufacturing industry
• Peruse more than 30 U.S. Dairy Exporter blog articles relating to U.S. cheese, listed in reverse chronological order here 
• Listen to insightful global dairy market analysis on cheese by Al Levitt, USDEC vice president of communications, on DairyLine Radio last year
• Check out Progressive Dairyman's infographic, below, visually depicting U.S. trends in cheese exports  

The U.S. Dairy Export Council is primarily supported by Dairy Management Inc. through the dairy farmer checkoff that builds on collaborative industry partnerships with processors, trading companies and others to build global demand for U.S. dairy products