Edam and Gouda exports down as Dutch worry

Alarm bells are ringing in Dutch dairies with the news that cheese exports of Edam, and Gouda to Germany have slipped for the second year in succession. Sales were down 6.4% in value terms to EUR770m. This represents a slide of 24% compared to 2008 export earnings for slicing cheese to Germany which had at that time topped EUR1 bn. The simple reason for this development is that Germany is making a lot more of its own slicing cheeses (a good proportion of this being Dutch-style Gouda). The January to August figures for last year show German slicing cheese production at it’s highest-ever with around 470,000 tonnes, which is around 10% up on the production for the same period of 2009. Looking back to 2008, slicing cheeses made in Germany only just managed to top the 400,000 tonne mark for January to August.
Self-sufficiency is by no means the direction being taken by butter in Germany though. In part, this compensates the Dutch for their Gouda export disaster. Dutch butter exports to Germany were up 45.8% on the year with earnings of EUR210 m.
Milk products flowing in the other direction (from Germany to the Netherlands) earned EUR1.19 bn in 2010, according to German Milk Industry Association (MIV) estimates. That’s a 23% increase over 2009, and mainly comprises industrial dairy products such as powder.