In September, the French ate more mozzarella than Camembert, preferring Italian cheese to the one so far most popular on the tables of France. It is the first time that Italian cheeses are more sold than French ones, as Le Figaro writes, which underlines that ” Italian culinary specialties have never been so appreciated in the world and especially in France ”. And he adds that ” in the land of a thousand cheeses, mozzarella has just dethroned the sacrosanct Camembert, until then the most popular soft cheese in France ”.
Fabrice Collier, president of the Norman Union of Camembert Producers (Snfc), confirmed that ” for the first time in France, the sales curve of Camembert, constantly falling by three per cent per year, has fallen below that in sales of mozzarella which registers an annual growth of five percent ”. Since the beginning of the year and up to 11 September, 29,230 tons of Camembert have been sold in France against 33,170 tons of mozzarella, explains Collier.
The use of these two soft cheeses is not the same, says Collier, calling Camembert ” more a table cheese ” and mozzarella ” a cooking cheese. “Le Figaro therefore writes that” eat Camembert in restaurants or during more traditional home-cooked meals, while mozzarella looks good in many easy-to-make and more trendy dishes. ”
The president of the Norman Union of Camembert Producers says he is worried about the future. “In the Eighties, 180,000 tons of Camembert were produced in France, part of which was exported, double the amount today”, recalls Collier, who says he is “particularly worried about the future of the sector”.