Americans are eating more cheese than ever and the industry is investing in higher production capacity to keep up with the increasing demand.
According to the USDA, in 2024, approximately 6.5 million tons of cheese will be produced in the United States, representing a 2% increase from this year. The USDA states that "significant investments have been made in expanding processing capacity to meet growing domestic and global demand for cheese." In 2024, that expanded capacity and the accelerated growth in milk production is expected to drive the 2% increase.
On a percentage basis, this means that there would be more milk going towards U.S. cheese production than ever before.
A slowdown in the growth of milk production in 2023, coupled with relatively strong domestic demand, limited exportable supplies, and weakened U.S. price competitiveness in export markets. In 2024, larger supplies will support an 8-percent jump in exports to 466,000 tons driven by higher import demand from Japan, China, Mexico, South Korea, and the Philippines.
Back in 2022, domestic cheese consumption reached an all-time high of nearly 42 pounds per person, according to USDA data, representing a 1/2 pound per person increase from 2021.
