UK cheese imports were down 26% YOY in July, at 33,172t. For the 12 months to year to July, cheese imports were down 18% compared to the prior year. Front-loading of shipments in Q4-2020 ahead of Brexit implementation affected early 2021 trade, but monthly totals are trending higher although remaining well below pre-Brexit and pre-COVID activity. The weaker July result mostly reflected lower shipments of cheddar, fresh cheese and mozzarella.

For the seven months to July, fresh cheese accounted for 27% of shipped volumes, followed by mozzarella and cheddar at 15% and 14% respectively. At 7,167t, July cheddar imports were at a seven-month high with nearly all of the product sourced from Ireland.

Cheese exports also declined by 42% YOY in July to 8,727t – near flat relative to May and June. For the 7 months of 2021 to date, cheese exports fell 45% compared to the same period in 2020. In the January to July period, Belgium was the leading destination, accounting for 23% of shipped volume, followed by France at 12% and Denmark/United States at 19%.