El Salvador cheese market

El Salvador consumed more than 72,000 tonnes of cheese in 2025, according to Zenith, or around 12 kg per person, one of the highest levels in Latin America.

Zenith expects consumption to grow by around 3% a year to 2030, passing 85,000 tonnes.

El Salvador is one of the most import-dependent cheese markets in the database. Imports, much of them from neighbouring Central American producers, supply most of what Salvadorans eat, with fresh cheeses and quesillo at the heart of demand. Formal domestic production is small, and part of it is exported.

The Zenith Global Cheese Database 2026 covers El Salvador with production, imports, exports and consumption for 39 cheese types, actuals from 2020 to 2025 and forecasts to 2030. Volume data covers totals, broad categories and separately measured cheese types, in tonnes. Consumer retail value covers total cheese only, in local currency and USD; import and export trade values cover HS 0406 total only, in USD. Monetary values are not broken down by individual cheese type or broad category. Retail shelf prices cover total cheese and five broad categories: hard and semi-hard, fresh, mould, processed, and other non-specified cheese, in local currency/kg and USD/kg, not individual prices for all 39 cheese types. Import and export unit prices cover HS 0406 total and available HS subheadings, in USD/kg. Retail value is estimated retail volume multiplied by regular shelf prices, including sales tax. Trade values are customs values, using CIF for imports and FOB for exports. Production is measured as formally manufactured cheese.