China’s Demand for Cheese Is Skyrocketing Even If No One There Can Digest It

Is there anything more satisfying than the luscious, creamy, buttery, oozy, wonder known as cheese? What would your pizza be without mozzarella, or your burger without a slice of Cheddar? The Western world practically runs on the stuff.

And now, China’s love for cheese is taking off, too.

Despite the fact that up to 92 percent of the Chinese population exhibits symptoms of lactose intolerance, the Chinese cheese industry—yes, there is such a thing—has experience a huge surge in the past couple of years. Euromonitor, a London-based market intelligence firm, has just released data showing that China’s appetite for cheese has grown so voraciously that the country is expected to consume $547 million worth of cheese this year alone. That’s up 23 percent from last year, reports Reuters.

In fact, China’s demand for cheese is so high that it has sparked New Zealand’s Fonterra—the world’s largest dairy importer—to invest an extra $170 million to ramp up their cheese production in order to keep up with the rising demand. Mind you, Fonterra already exports 2 million tons of cheese to China annually, making the country—and its more than 1.4 billion current inhabitants—Fonterra’s top customer.

China’s demand for cheese is also connected to its quickly growing network of fast food chains, as 80 percent of the imported cheese is sold through the country’s thriving restaurant and bakery industries. Much of it is consumed in the form of mozzarella on pizzas (there are currently 1,600 Pizza Huts in China) and processed cheese products used to top cheeseburgers (there over 4,500 McDonald’s locations in China as of 2015). The other 20 percent, it turns out, is primarily driven by market consumers simply buying cheese for their children based on the belief that it makes for a healthy snack. Guess that lactose intolerance isn’t going to scare anyone away from a little string cheese.

Data also suggests that part of China’s imported cheese boom can be credited to the nation’s growing Westernization and common sentiment that anything foreign is superior than anything produced locally, especially if imported from the US or Europe. After all, this is the same country where you can be paid just for being white.

Along with China’s recent unquenchable thirst for Maine-sourced lobsters, it looks like both the fishermen and dairy cows of the world definitely have their work cut out for them in order to keep up with these new seemingly ceaseless global demands.