A new world ranking has revealed that Ireland is even cheesier than renowned fromage-loving France.
A list of the top cheese-producing nations on the planet shows we produce over 56kg per head of population, putting us third globally behind Denmark and New Zealand, but way ahead of France in 11th.
International food magazine Chef’s Pencil, which was launched in 2009 in Sydney, Australia, produced the table based on the latest figures from last year.
A spokesperson said: “Ireland ranks third worldwide among the countries with the highest production of cheese per capita.
“Ireland produces 56.7 kilograms per person and is only outranked only by Denmark (78 kg/person) and New Zealand (76.1 kg/person).
“The Netherlands (54.2 kg/person) and Cyprus (42.0 kg/person) come in fourth and fifth.
“Coming in at number three on the list is surprisingly Ireland, which produces 287 thousand metric tonnes of cheese every year and has a population of roughly five million.
“That amounts to 56.7 kilograms of cheese produced per capita or roughly 125 pounds per person.
“Cheese production in Ireland has increased at a staggering rate in recent years.
“For the past five years, Ireland has recorded the second highest cheese production growth rate in the European Union, up 39%, only second to Cyprus.
“This is almost five times higher than the growth rate for the EU as a whole.
“Moreover, Ireland ranks second in the EU among countries with the highest cheese production growth over the past five years.
“Ireland recorded a 39% growth in cheese production from 2016 to 2021.”
The spokesperson added: “In absolute terms, Ireland ranks 19th worldwide having produced 287,000 metric tonnes of cheese in 2021.
“The United States is the world’s largest producer of cheese, followed by Germany, France, and Italy.”
READ NEXT:
- Gogglebox's Giles secret job that earns him lots of money after retiring at 21
- Man who walked out on his family for Ukrainian refugee vows he's '100% done with her'
- Ireland weather map shows Indian summer to hit in days as Met Eireann forecast final 2022 heat burst
- Mrs Hinch fans share €2 trick to banish condensation from windows this winter
- Fans fear for Love Island's Paige as video emerges of boyfriend Adam with mystery blonde
Get breaking news to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter
