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Pizza cheese exports growing

Pizza cheese exports are growing which could mean increased profits for American dairy producers. Merle McNeil, market analyst with the U.S. Dairy Export Council says a recent study looked at 23 markets in East Asia and concluded that area will be ripe for market growth over the next five years. She says those markets consumed about a quarter million tons of pizza cheese in 2014 and is likely to increase another 100-thousand metric tons by 2020.

McNeil says most of the markets covered in the global pizza cheese study are mostly or fully dependent on imports to meet their pizza cheese needs. Only a handful of these countries are in a position to supply even half of their current demand, and United States Dairy producers are in a prime position given U.S. health and food safety standards.

“When you look at these markets, especially in east China, Japan and Korea, health and safety is one of the top requirements that they have because they’ve had so many issues with food quality that was imported into their countries.” says McNeil.

The council reports pizza has become a large and valuable market globally with sales of more than $110 billion dollars annually.