British shoppers are spurning the country’s own cheeses in favour of more exotic continental varieties.
Last year, sales of the old staple, Cheddar, remained almost the same, while continental cheeses increased by more than 8%.
British cheese has gone up in price due to low levels of milk production in the first half of 2013 and greater worldwide demand for dairy products, especially from Asia. Last year, the price of milk reached its highest value for four years.
Shoppers may have also been influenced by the use of continental cheeses in TV cookery programmes.
The research agency Mintel said that Cheddar still dominates the market, accounting for 53% of sales. Growth in cheese sales, however, was down to speciality cheese.
Mintel said that people have also been selecting stronger cheeses, but also choosing healthier ones. Low-fat cheese sales went over £70 million for the first time in Britain last year as demand went up 5.6%. Lighter varieties of cheddar contain about 22% fat compared with 35% for standard cheddar.
