• Cheese: Market SizeThe French market for cheese reached a value of €6 billion (US$7.1 billion) in 2003.

• Cheese: Market SectorsUnprocessed soft cheese represented the largest sector in 2003, accounting for 49% of the total market.

• Cheese: Share of MarketFigures shown are for 2002 as 2003 data was unavailable at the time of writing.

• Cheese: Marketing ActivityIn 2003, television remained the advertising medium for the cheese sector, accounting for 87% of advertising expenditure.

• Cheese: Corporate OverviewThe EU is under obligation to increase its quota of cheese imports from non-EU countries according to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).

• Cheese: Bongrain saBongrain registered a turnover of €3.9 billion in 2002, a fall of 2% on the previous year.
Figures for 2003 were unavailable at the time of writing
• Cheese: Fromageries BelIn 2002, the turnover of Fromageries Bel fell by 2.7% to reach a value of €1.7 billion.
Figures for 2003 were unavailable at the time of writing.

• Cheese: Groupe Lactalis saTurnover for Groupe Lactalis amounted to €5.5 billion in 2002, a 17% increase over 2001.
Figures for 2003 were unavailable at the time of writing.

• Cheese: DistributionSupermarkets/hypermarkets dominate the cheese retail market accounting for 73.7% of value sales in 2003.

• Cheese: Consumer ProfileThe French per capita expenditure for the cheese market reached €100.8 in 2003 representing a 1.9% growth over 2002 figures.

• Cheese: Market ForecastsDespite the current trend away from the traditional family meal, value sales will experience healthy growth of just under 13% by the end of the forecast period.

• Cheese: Sector ForecastsSoft cheeses will continue to lead the market for cheese, registering a value of €3.0 billion in 2008, representing nearly 48% of the French cheese market.