The production of cheese and dairy products in general is in crisis and everything is basically caused by the decrease in Spanish cheese consumption. When the statistics from last year are analyzed, a stagnation or slight increase in dairy consumption is observed but a decrease in Spanish products.
Of the more than 4 billion tons of dairy products consumed annually in Spain, a decrease in the consumption of yogurts and smoothies is observed. The increase is seen in the consumption of liquid milk with an increase of 1,8% and an increase of 1,1% in cheese. The problem arises when analyzing the consumption of national cheeses, which decreased by 3% in favor of international cheeses last year.
Less Spanish cheese is consumed
Although in recent decades the number of artisanal cheeses has continued to grow, consumption of Spanish cheese has decreased. High inflation has taken its toll on this market segment and consumers prioritize price over diversity or proximity of the producer. In this way, private labels and international industrial cheeses have captured the market for Spanish cheese, especially from small and medium-sized producers. And in Spain, almost 900 thousand tons of dairy products are sold that come from outside our borders, especially from Holland and Germany. Meanwhile we are only capable of exporting 500 thousand tons.
All of this leads to a complicated situation for the dairy sector and especially the cheese sector as stocks increase and sales decrease. In this sense, the employers raise the alarm because they link it to the low competitiveness of the Spanish producer and processor. All of this is the result of the price increase that they are forced to pass on to the product. Everything leads to less consumption of these products and the consequence is that the large supermarket companies remove them from the shelves.
