EUROPEAN CHEESE INDUSTRY - CHANGING STRUCTURE, ECONOMIES OF SCALE ANDIMPLICATIONS FOR COMPETITIVENESS

This paper shows the changes in the structure of the European cheese i ndustry in the 1990s, and the implications of recent competitive behav iour. There has been a reduction in the number of plants and firms, an d a significant increase in the number of firms which operate at a sca le of over ten thousand tonnes of cheese per year. The extent of econo mies of scale in the production process is illustrated Recent and proj ected investments in the industry are shown. These investments and the drive to make more efficient use of existing capacity have resulted i n substantial price competition particularly for semi-hard cheese, and probably in lower prices to farmers for milk.