New Zealand cheese market

New Zealand consumed more than 38,000 tonnes of cheese in 2025, according to Zenith, or around 7 kg per person. Production is more than ten times that level.

Zenith expects home consumption to grow by around 5% a year to 2030, passing 48,000 tonnes, while production grows by around 2% a year.

New Zealand is one of the world's great cheese exporters. It exports around 92% of the cheese it makes, mainly cheddar, mozzarella and gouda, and is the third largest exporter in the database after the EU27 and the USA. Asia, Australia and the Middle East are its main markets.

The Zenith Global Cheese Database 2026 covers New Zealand 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.