U.S. per capita consumption of dairy products dipped slightly last year, most likely due to sky-rocketing commodity prices. Click on the October Market Service Bulletin here.
The data, placed into charts by the Federal Milk Market Administrator office in Shawnee, Kan., is still preliminary. However, it shows total cheese consumption dipping back to 32 lb./person in 2008, after peaking at 33 lb. in 2007. The only type of cheese that showed growth last year was American-type cheese, up a pound.
Total milk and cream sales also declined on a per capita basis. But yogurt continued its meteoric rise, reaching nearly 12 lb./person. Butter per capita sales were also up slightly.
But the big new is still cheese. U.S. per capita cheese consumption is up 127.6% since 1975, up from about 14 lb/person back then. Total dairy consumption has also grown more than 60 lb./person, or more than 10% since 1975.
