http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese
World production and consumption
Worldwide, cheese is a major agricultural product. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, over 18 million metric tons of cheese were produced worldwide in 2004. This is more than the yearly production of coffee beans, tea leaves, cocoa beans and tobacco combined. The largest producer of cheese is the United States, accounting for 30 percent of world production, followed by Germany and France.
Top Cheese Producers - 2004
(1,000 Metric Tons)[25]
United States 4,327
Germany 1,929
France 1,827
Italy 1,102
Netherlands 672
Poland 535
Brazil 470
Egypt 450
Australia 373
Argentina 370
The biggest exporter of cheese, by monetary value, is France; the second, Germany (although it is first by quantity). Among the top ten exporters, only Ireland, New Zealand, the Netherlands and Australia have a cheese production that is mainly export oriented: respectively 95 percent, 90 percent, 72 percent, and 65 percent of their cheese production is exported.[26] Only 30 percent of French production, the world's largest exporter, is exported. The United States, the biggest world producer of cheese, is a marginal exporter, as most of its production is for the domestic market.