Once again the cheese consumption of German consumers moves upwards with 200 g extra per head registered in 2011 compared with the previous year – and a whopping 3 kg more than in 2000! This takes annual cheese sales per citizen up to 23 kg, a performance that reinforces Germany’s position at number four in the European cheese eating league, but still a good way behind the leaders Greece (31.0 kg/head in 2009), France (26 kg) and Iceland 25.4 kg).

Not so good is the expert analysis of this steady increase in cheese eating by the average German citizen. Wilhelm Bruggemeier, chairman of the North Rhine Westphalia Milk Industry Association explains that the growth was less through consumers putting an extra slice of cheese on their breakfast toast and more due to the rapid growth in cheese use for cheeseburgers and pizzas in fast food outlets countrywide. In the first nine months of 2011 cheese production in German increased by 1.3%, compared with the same period of the previous year, according to preliminary figures. In the same timespan exports of German cheese increased by 4%.