Chart of the week: America’s cheese glut

The US cheese mountain has hit a 30-year high, with a billion pounds of excess cheese locked away in cold storage. Two years ago, when milk prices were high, America's dairy farmers began increasing the size of their herds, meaning that milk production has increased. But thanks to higher production in Europe and a strong US dollar, America is struggling to sell its cheese overseas.

This week, the US Department of Agriculture announced it plans to buy 11 million pounds of cheese for $20m to hand to food banks and pantries nationwide but this amounts to little more than a nibble out of the mountain.

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