Dec 17, 2018 - Economy

The U.S. mountain of unwanted cheese

A man pours shredded cheese from a massive pot

Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

There is roughly a 1.4 billion pound stockpile of U.S.-made cheese in cold-storage warehouses — the largest stockpile on record, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Why it matters: Trade tensions and tariffs from Mexico and China cut international demand for American cheese shortly after many producers upped production. Americans also don't want processed cheeses as much as they used to. Cheese doesn't last forever, and the growing stockpile along with falling prices as the cheese gets older could cause even more dairy farmers to go out of business, according to the WSJ. One good thing: America's pizza-lovers are keeping mozzarella sales strong.

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