Romanians dig cheese: imports are up and most of local production is consumed locally

Romania imported five times more cheese than it exported in the first eight months of this year, according to data from the Agriculture Ministry, quoted by Agerpres. The imports stood at some 23,300 tonnes of cheese and were close to the level of imports in 2011. Romania exported 4,300 tonnes of cheese during the first eight months, more than twice the amount in the same period of 2011. Local producers cashed in some EUR 12 million in the first eight months of the year, 61 percent more than in the same period of 2011. Meanwhile, the value of imported cheese was of EUR 63 million, slightly below the level in the first eight months of 2011. Most of the local production of cheese is consumed locally, with some 51,300 tonnes of cheese produced in the first nine months of 2012, an increase of 7.3 percent on the same period in 2011. editor@romania-insider.com (photo source: sxc.hu)