As you can probably guess, France is one of the world’s biggest producers and consumers of cheese. In 2020, French cheese lovers bought and consumed over 8 million metric tonnes of cheese, ranking only behind the USA and Germany. Let’s take an in-depth look at 7 mind-blowing French cheese sales stats.
SEE ALSO: The 46 most protected French cheeses by region →
How much cheese is sold each year in France?
In 2020, 8,468,797 metric tonnes of cheese were sold in France. As a matter of fact, that number is a significant 8.9% increase on the sales figures for 2019. Unsurprisingly, cheese sales and consumption have increased during the pandemic. Is there anything better than cheese to cheer you up? At The Cheese Scientist, we don’t think so!
When you consider that the population of France (all ages) is 67.39 million, you find that the average person in France consumes 125 kg of cheese a year! Or 344 g of cheese a day. Sabine and I love cheese, but I have to admit that we both fall a bit short of this tally.
What are the most popular milks used to make French cheese?
Next, let’s have a look at the different milks that the French use to make cheese. Once again, there are no surprises here as cow’s milk is by far the most popular milk. With 84.2% of the market, cow’s milk cheeses far outrank goat’s, sheep’s and other milks in both production and sales.
However, you will find that this statistic is significantly different if we restrict the sales to the Loire region. Indeed, almost 70% of the entire country’s production of goat’s cheeses comes from the Loire Valley. And it is by far the most popular cheese in this part of France.
What are the most popular types of cheese in France?
The most popular cheeses in France fall under the pressed cooked category (34%). Some examples of this type of cheese include Emmental and Comté. Indeed, those two cheeses are among the biggest sellers in the country but will have a closer look at those numbers a little bit later.
In second place (29%), we find pressed uncooked cheeses such as Raclette and Morbier. Wrapping up the categories we have soft cheeses (e.g., Camembert), blue cheeses (e.g., Roquefort), chèvres (e.g., Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine) and whey cheeses (e.g., Brocciu).
Where do the French buy their cheese from?
If you’ve never been to France, this stat is really going to surprise you. Yes, close to 50% of cheese sales in the country take place in large format supermarkets called hypermarkets. Over the last few years, cheese delivery services have boomed and now account for 7.4% of all sales.
Finally, farmer’s markets and specialty cheese shops appear at the rear end of the list with respectively 5.8% and 6% of overall cheese sales. While we are witnessing a resurgence of such cheese shops in north American, Australia and the UK, it seems that their market share is diminishing each year in France.
Are most French cheeses made with raw milk?
Our fifth stat looks at the percentage of cheeses made with raw milk versus pasteurised milk. And, if you’re familiar with the history of cheesemaking in France and most of Europe, this will not surprise you. A staggering 78.8% of all cheeses sold in France are actually made using raw milk.
And yet, somehow, most of those cheeses are banned in the United States and Australia! Is this even a public health and safety issue? You can read more about the importance of raw milk cheese in our article on the topic.
What is the most popular cheese in France?
I don’t know about you but I love a good sales chart! And if you tell me that this particular one doesn’t surprise you, I will be very impressed. The most sold cheese in all of France is Emmental! Yes, that large pressed cooked cheese with the large eyes. Actually, the main reason for this stat is the versatility of this particular mountain cheese. Indeed, Emmental is sold in wedges, blocks, cubes and slices and it does not disappoint in any form.
Rounding up the top three, we find another pressed cooked cheese (Comté) and one of the most popular cheeses on Instagram, Raclette. What is less surprising is that Mozzarella makes the top 10 and Roquefort is the most popular blue cheese.
Is cheese expensive in France?
Undoubtedly, cheese is much cheaper in France than it is in north America and Australia. Astonishingly, France’s most popular cheese, Emmental, costs only €7.55/kg. Actually, the only cheese in the top 15 sales that costs less than this is the soft cheese Coulommiers (€5.58/kg).
On the higher end of the scale, we find the sheep’s milk blue cheese Roquefort (€16.15/kg) and the seasonal Mont d’Or (€14.63/kg). For the sake of comparison, in Australia, Roquefort costs about AU$85/kg (or €57/kg). And in the USA, it costs about USD$31/lb (or €66.95/kg).
Finally, the most expensive cheese among the top 15 is the Italian Parmigiano Reggiano, clocking in at a “whopping” €18.15/kg. Yes, this is still a long way from the AU$100/kg (€67.50/kg) that we sometimes pay in Australia.
Which French cheese sales stat surprised you the most?
Thank you for reading our list of 7 mind-blowing French cheese sales stats. Which one surprised you the most? Let me know in the comments.
Jonah is a a hipster, eco-warrior and slow food afficionado. Coming from a scientific background, Jonah has a particular interest in cheese science. And yes, he loves a good cheese pun!
