Americans are eating more cheese than ever and the industry is investing in production capacity to keep up with demand.
In 2024, approximately 6.5 million tons of cheese will be produced in the U.S., according to estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a 2% increase from this year.
If realized, there would be more milk going toward U.S. cheese production than ever before on a percentage basis. Production is also expected to rise in the European Union, Russia, Brazil and several other countries fueled by growing consumption.
In 2022, domestic cheese consumption reached an all-time high of nearly 42 pounds per person, according to the latest USDA data. That’s a half-a-pound per person increase over the previous year.
Along with increased production and supplies, exports will climb next year. U.S. cheese exports are expected to jump 8% to 466,000 tons, according to the USDA, driven by higher import demand from Japan, China, Mexico, South Korea and the Philippines after a somewhat challenging year.
A sluggish economic environment weakened importer demand amid increased competition from New Zealand and the EU, affecting overall exports for milk powders, whey, cheese and other dairy products.
U.S. exports are expected to face similar headwinds next year as demand from key markets in Asia weakens.
