Cheese

Cheese exports divide between ingredient use and retail presentation, and the specification follows. Mozzarella for pizza is bought on melt, stretch, browning and moisture: functional performance under heat rather than eating quality cold. Cheddar is bought on age, sharpness and colour, with the colour expectation varying sharply by market. Processed cheese is bought on format, melt behaviour and shelf stability, which matters in warm supply chains.

The practical constraint on this category is the cold chain, which has to hold end to end. It is the most common cause of quality claims and it is usually a last-mile problem rather than an ocean one.

Supply management shapes availability as it does across Canadian dairy: contract forward.