United Kingdom cheese market

The United Kingdom is the third largest cheese market in Europe and Eurasia and the seventh largest of the 48 markets in the database. Zenith puts consumption at more than 660,000 tonnes in 2025, or around 10 kg per person.

The UK is a mature market. Zenith expects consumption to grow by less than 1% a year to 2030, passing 690,000 tonnes.

The UK is the largest cheese importer in the database, with imports, mostly from the EU, supplying around 70% of consumption. It is also a significant exporter, shipping around two fifths of its own production. Cheddar dominates both production and consumption.

The Zenith Global Cheese Database 2026 covers the United Kingdom 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.