4 hours ago, helenjp said:I agree, it's da economy. As East Asian countries consume more meat and dairy, opportunities for PROCESSED dairy products (preferably made from cheap imported milk powder, milk fats, or whey) also increase. Dairy imports - China Soft cheeses like camembert are especially lucrative, and certainly Japan has been keen to find reasons to reduce imports of those soft cheeses, while encouraging domestic brands to take up the slack. Tariffs all over 20%, with some ready-to-eat products like flavored yogurts and soft cheeses attracting 45% in import duties.
Maybe in China too, the dairy producers tend to be (ex?) public or semi-public corporations that are big enough to exert political pressure to gain red-blooded protection for the tinsy tiny domestic dairy industry. For a few years, this situation made it almost impossible to buy retail butter - imports seemed to have disappeared from ordinary supermarkets, while domestic butter supplies were either funneled into the big cake and confectionery manufacturers, or released only as "butter-added" spreads and margarines.
Japanese camembert has certainly improved, just as well, as imported soft cheese is too rich for my budget. I don't anticipate seeing anything more adventurous than fresh mozzarella and camembert though.
The "bacteria" thing is a biggie though - natto in Japan or stinky tofu in China is fine, fermented milk products suspicious, and fresh meat sausages and salami obviously part of a fiendish western plot...
I disagree re China. If that were the real reason, they would have stopped imports of hard cheeses which make up a far larger market (though still small). They haven't.
The tinsy tiny domestic dairy industry? The domestic dairy market in China is huge but the largest producers are joint venture companies with foreign countries, particularly New Zealand. I'm not aware that any of them make soft cheeses.Hard cheeses, yes.
