China develops appetite for cheese, with surge in imports from EU. Elite’s evolving tastes, and pizza, behind the trend
- Most Chinese people have never savoured dairy products, and many are lactose intolerant, but things are changing
- Imports are increasing every year, and French and Italian cheese ambassadors believe a niche market for cheese is opening up
Something smells funny in China. Cheese and other dairy products are not part of the traditional Chinese diet, yet there has been a surge in dairy imports.
According to European Commission data, the volume of Europe’s cheese exports to China in the first 11 months of this year was 24 per cent higher than for the whole of 2018, amounting to more than 18,600 tonnes. Exports of European butter to the country have grown at an even greater pace this year – by 36 per cent.
“The spread of cheese awareness and consumption in China is a relatively recent phenomenon, but it is growing and has enormous potential due to the dimensions of the country’s consumer market,” says Roland Barthélemy, a celebrated master cheesemaker from France and supreme judge of the annual World Cheese Awards.
It would be wrong to say China produces no cheese, Barthélemy says, but cheese making is not widespread. “Cheese made with yak milk is produced in Tibet and Mongolia, but it [has historically been] confined to those areas,” he says.
Other yak milk products – such as ice cream, butter, yogurt, milk and fruit drinks, and powdered milk – have experienced a surge in popularity. Additionally, a few big Chinese dairy companies have flourished in recent decades.