by In 2012, Switzerland produced close to 27,000 tons of Emmental, its famous holey cheese. By 2022, production had fallen to below 15,000 tons, a fall of around 45%, according to reports from the industry association representing the brand. Emmental © Richard Villalon | Dreamstime.comThe force behind lower production is lower demand. The cheese is coming under increasing pressure on the world market, according to SRF. Is there a problem with the cheese’s image? Not according to Urs Schluechter, the director of the Emmental industry association. Emmental remains the most copied and eaten cheese around the world, said Schluechter. The problem appears to be price. Compared to foreign copies Emmental AOP is expensive. And the rising strength of the Swiss Franc is adding to the price
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In 2012, Switzerland produced close to 27,000 tons of Emmental, its famous holey cheese. By 2022, production had fallen to below 15,000 tons, a fall of around 45%, according to reports from the industry association representing the brand.
The force behind lower production is lower demand. The cheese is coming under increasing pressure on the world market, according to SRF.
Is there a problem with the cheese’s image? Not according to Urs Schluechter, the director of the Emmental industry association. Emmental remains the most copied and eaten cheese around the world, said Schluechter.
The problem appears to be price. Compared to foreign copies Emmental AOP is expensive. And the rising strength of the Swiss Franc is adding to the price foreigners pay.
Earlier this year, Swiss Emmental makers received another blow. Outside Switzerland, the Emmental cheese brand is not protected. The industry association has been trying to change this for a long time. However, in May 2023 a court in Luxembourg rejected a request for brand protection in the EU. The request aimed to require the place of origin in the name for non Swiss Emmental. So Emmental made outside Switzerland would be labelled as “Emmental from [place of origin]”. Only Swiss Emmental would be labelled as “Emmental”. The industry association is now taking the case to the European Court of Justice, Europe’s highest court.
Some Swiss Emmental producers are not holding their breath. Some have already pivoted to other cheeses made from goat and sheep milk, reported SRF.
More on this:
SRF article (in German)
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