The Mahón-Menorca PDO Cheese sells 2.6 tons in 2024, the highest figure in its history

This Thursday, April 3, the Minister of Economy and General Services of Menorca, Maria Antònia Taltavull, and the president of the Regulatory Council of the Cheese Mahón-Menorca PDO, Joan Bosco Triay, together with the manager of the PDO, Piedad López, presented the production and sales data for the product for 2024 and took stock of the current situation.

The 49 cheese dairies currently registered (43 of them artisanal) in the Mahón-Menorca Protected Designation of Origin Regulatory Council produced a total of 3,523.254 kilos of Cheese Mahón-Menorca in 2024, of which 2,604.436 were sold, 1.72% more than in 2023 and the highest figure in its history. “We are in a record year,” explained Triay.

61% of the total sales were semi-cured cheese, 22% cured cheese and the remaining 17% soft cheese. This represented a value of around 24.7 million euros. There are currently 42 companies that market the product.

A total of 98 farms are currently registered with the Mahón-Menorca Cheese Denomination of Origin Regulatory Council, with a milk production of 39.6 million liters in 2024, of which 30 are destined for the manufacture of cheese with the DOP seal (76%).

In Menorca, around 90% of the cultivated area is forage and cereals for feeding cattle. The breeds accepted for milk production for the DOP are: Menorcan, Friesian and Alpine Brown. 5% of Menorcan sheep's milk is also accepted, although currently, in most cases, it is 100% cow's milk.

21% of the total is sold in Menorca, with 546,902 kilos, and almost half of the 2.6 tons sold are sold in Mallorca and Ibiza: 1,278,266, being the main attraction and differentiating factor of Mahón-Menorca cheese. In total, the sale in the Balearic Islands is 70%. 13.2% is sold in Catalonia with 343,266 kilos and 9.4% in the rest of Spain, reaching 244,086 kilos.

“From the Consell Insular we consider that any differentiated product with its own personality always improves the possibilities of development of the local economy and the commercial circuits and allows local producers to survive in the current and difficult commercial world. This is the case of the cheeses with the Protected Designation of Origin Queso Mahón-Menorca, which is why I believe that we must insist on highlighting the work of farmers, which is very vocational, and has been passed down from generation to generation, with constant effort”, said Taltavull. “We are firmly committed to the countryside and local producers and we also want to highlight the importance that restaurateurs on the island have in maintaining traditional recipes and local identity without ceasing to innovate and reinvent themselves”, he added.

In terms of exports, Queso Mahón-Menorca is present in 44 countries and represents 7.37% of the total commercialization. During 2024, 191,916 kilos were distributed, and the United States is the main exporter, by a large margin. The United States receives 110,568 kilos of the Menorcan PDO, which represents a high 57.61% of total exports. It is followed by the Dominican Republic with 31,696 kilos and 16.52% of the total and Germany with 10,098 and 5.26%. In fourth and fifth place are the United Kingdom (9,892 kilos) and Mexico (6,232 kilos).

“Internationally, we have decreased a little, but this has been compensated by domestic sales. With regard to tariffs in the United States, history has already shown us what will happen. An increase in the price of the product has an impact on marketing. We will try to promote it so that the minimum is lost and even be able to gain market share”, explained the president of the Regulatory Council of the PDO Queso Mahón-Menorca. “We have dedicated great efforts to promotion at a national level, and it has been noticeable because we have grown by 17%. For the first time we have incorporated Valencia”, added the manager of the PDO.

“On behalf of the Insular Council, we will give 100% support to the cheese companies and we will do our utmost so that they are not harmed. We will look for solutions and we will not leave the sector aside, especially considering that it is a leading product”, concluded the Minister of Economy and General Services of Menorca.