THE NETHERLANDS – Cheese exports from the main European producers now reflect cheese overproduction as confidence returns to the meat markets after BSE and a raft of other scares.

According to German pricing agency ZMP, overall cheese exports from the Netherlands were 151,300 tonnes in the first quarter of 2001, down 6% on the same period last year.

Commenting on the news, a Dutch Dairy Board representative said: “It certainly looks as if demand is taking a beating in some of our European customer countries.” But the board argued that the decrease should be viewed in the light of high sales in 2001, when public confidence in protein from meat reached a low. This is thought to have boosted the Netherlands’ cheese export trade by around 30%.

The main drop in sales for Dutch cheese comes from the countries where the meat scare bit hardest. Exports to Germany dropped 12.3% on 2001 to 58,000 tonnes in the first quarter of this year. Demand in France also took a dive to around 14,000 tonnes, which is 13.7% down on the year.

A dramatic drop of 29% was recorded in Britain, although the long-term UK market for cheese like Edam and Gouda is modest compared with exports to other countries.

Cheese exports from Belgium and Italy in the first quarter were up 21% and 7.2% respectively on the previous year.