Argentine cheese

Argentine cheese is by far the most produced dairy product in the country, making Argentina the second largest cheese producer in Latin America and among the top 10 cheese-producing countries in the world. In addition, Argentina is the Latin American country that consumes the most cheese, with 12 kilos per capita per year. Production is mainly centered in the provinces of Córdoba, Santa Fe and Buenos Aires, in the Pampas region of the central and east-central parts of the country.
In the 18th century—during the colonial era—Argentina was the place of origin of the Tafí del Valle and Goya cheeses which, along with Chanco from Chile, constitute the oldest cheeses created in the Southern Cone region of South America. Tafí del Valle is the oldest cheese of Argentina and originated in what is now the city of the same name in Tucumán, traditionally attributed to Jesuit missionaries, while Goya was created in what is now the city of the same name in Corrientes. These cheeses are one of the few typical Latin American food products with nearly three hundred years of history, along with tequila from Mexico, pisco from Peru and Chile, and chicha, among others.
Modern Argentine cheesemaking culture emerged as a result of the major European immigration wave that took place during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which turned Buenos Aires into a "melting pot" and a great cosmopolitan city, while radically changing the customs of both the working and upper classes. These immigrants, especially those from Italy, introduced the cheesemaking technologies of their home countries and attempted to recreate their cheeses. Popular cheeses of Argentine origin include Reggianito, Sardo, Cremoso, Provoleta and Pategrás.
The Argentine dairy industry is highly developed and is among the most modern in Latin America. Cheese is by far the most produced dairy product in the country, accounting for approximately 45% of national milk production, making the country one of the top 10 cheese-producing countries in the world and the second in Latin America after Brazil. More than half of the total cheese production of the country corresponds to soft cheeses (with Cremoso being the most consumed in the country), followed by semi-hard cheeses (30%) and hard cheeses (15%).
Dairy production is mainly centered in the Pampas region of the central and east-central parts of Argentina, the region of the country most influenced by the Great European immigration wave of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The provinces with the most important cheese production are Córdoba, Santa Fe and Buenos Aires, and to a lesser extent La Pampa, Entre Ríos and San Luis.
Due to the wide range of high-quality cheese produced in Argentina, imports of cheeses are very low—between 2,000 and 8,000 million tonnes—and mainly come from Brazil and Uruguay. The country to which the most cheese is exported is Brazil—accounting for 43% of the total exports as of 2011—followed by Venezuela, Russia, Mexico, Chile and South Korea.
Argentina is also the Latin American country that consumes the most cheese, with 12 kilos per capita per year. As a result of increased consumption, the cheese production in the country grew significantly in the 2000s decade, going from 430,955 tonnes in 2001 to 508,000 tonnes in 2009. During this period, cheese consumption went from 8.3 kg per capita in 2003 to 12.4 kg per capita in 2012.