Cheese Overload: U.S. Sitting On 1.2 Billion Pounds
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) -- An abundance of milk in Europe, combined with high demand in the United States is adding up to a cheese surplus in America.
"We're getting cheese stuffed in the pizza crust; Taco Bell has the new 'Quesalupa,' which has more cheese in it. It's going into burgers. Americans are consuming about three pounds per person more cheese this year," Tom Bailey, U.S. dairy expert for Rabobank International told KCBS. That adds up to more than 37 pounds of cheese consumer per person, per year on average.
The U.S. has reached a 30-year-high surplus of cheese, totaling 1.2 billion pounds.
"We've also seen weak demand from developing markets, to China and Russia being the first and second largest importers of product. So, we've had too much milk, and we haven't really had anywhere to send it," Bailey said.
The majority of cheese we're sitting on in America is good old American cheeses including Cheddar, Monterey Jack, and Colby.
"Only about three to five percent of this cheese is imported," Bailey said.
