Commodity Origins

How much cheese does Germany produce and export?

Germany is the 2nd largest producer of cheese: 2.4 million tonnes in 2023, 10% of the world's 23 million tonnes (FAOSTAT). It is the largest exporter by value: $6.6 billion in 2024, 15% of world exports of cheese (HS 0406) (CEPII BACI). Its biggest customer is Italy, which takes 18% of its cheese exports by value.

All about cheese · All about Germany

Germany's cheese production

Germany cheese production, 2023
World rankProduction (tonnes)Share of worldTen-year growthYear
22.4 million tonnes10%+0.6% a year2023

FAOSTAT Crops and livestock products (QCL), 2023. World total is the sum of reporting countries.

Germany cheese production monthly prices, tonnes, Jan 1961 to Jan 2023Line chart of germany cheese production monthly prices in tonnes from Jan 1961 to Jan 2023: Germany cheese production from 204,700 to 2,359,510, peaking at 2,359,510.0500,0001,000,0001,500,0002,000,0002,500,000196519701975198019851990199520002005201020152020tonnes
Germany cheese production

Share of world output over time

Germany's share of world cheese production in selected years
19902000201020202023
6.3%6.8%8%11%10%

Average annual share by decade: 1960s 5.8%, 1970s 6%, 1980s 6.5%, 1990s 6.2%, 2000s 7.4%, 2010s 11%, 2020s 10%. See the concentration-over-time report.

Germany's cheese exports

Germany exports of Cheese and curd, 2024
World rankExport valueShare of world exportsQuantity (tonnes)Average value per tonneYear
1$6.6 billion15%1.4 million t$4,5842024

CEPII BACI international trade database (HS22, V202601), HS 0406 (Cheese and curd).

Where Germany's cheese goes

Largest destinations of Germany's cheese exports, 2024
DestinationValueShare of Germany's exports
Italy$1.2B18%
Netherlands$685M10%
France$543M8.2%
Austria$440M6.7%
Spain$439M6.6%

Largest five destinations of 4,499 exporter-importer pairs BACI reports for 2024. See trade flows.

Germany as a buyer of cheese

Germany imported $6 billion of cheese (HS 0406) in 2024, 13% of world imports, ranked #1. Of its $6 billion of cheese imports in 2024, 30% came from the Netherlands and 15% from France, among 56 suppliers. Largest sources: Netherlands (29%), France (15%), Italy (14%), Austria (8.3%), Denmark (7.1%).

Import dependency · Supplier shifts

Cite as: Commodity Origins, "Germany cheese: production, exports and prices", https://commodityorigins.com/countries/DEU/cheese/ (CC BY 4.0). Rankings count only countries reporting to the sources named; this page is shown only for top-five producers or exporters with at least 3% of the world total. Report an issue with this page.