US cheese production expected to grow in 2024

 In the United States, significant investments have been made in expanding processing capacity to meet growing domestic and global demand for cheese, according to a recent US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Global Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) dairy market report.

In 2024, that expanded capacity and the accelerated growth in milk production is expected to drive a 2% increase in cheese production of 6.5 million tons. 

If realised, this would be a record on a milk fats equivalence basis for percentage of milk for manufacturing going toward the production of cheese. 

A slowdown in the growth of milk production in 2023, coupled with relatively strong domestic demand, limited exportable supplies and weakened US price competitiveness in export markets. 

In 2024, larger supplies will support an 8% jump in exports to 466,000 tons. Higher import demand is expected from Japan, China, Mexico, South Korea, and the Philippines.