France has just asked its citizens to eat cheese as a part of their national duty. As countries all over the world are reeling under coronavirus pandemic, several industries are struggling to keep businesses afloat. Dairy industry is no exception and the French government has now asked citizens to do their patriotic duty by increasing consumption of different types of cheese such as brie, camembert, reblochon, among others, Business Insider reported. The French dairy had also earlier put a collective call to the French people to eat more cheese.
Due to coronavirus pandemic, sales of certain cheese types have fallen by as much as 60%, according to a statement by France Terre de Lait, a French dairy industry. France, as one of the worst hit countries due to coronavirus, has also witnessed closure of markets and restaurants, which can be seen as a major reason for the drop in cheese consumption. Further, along with a hit from the shutting of restaurants, people are also not buying over-the-counter cheese from stores as French citizens try to steer clear from germs and uphold hygiene standards, The Telegraph reported. France is among the top ten countries with the highest number COVID-19 cases and the country has over 1.75 lakh total cases so far, according to statistics website Worldometer.
Thousands of tons of cheese now is at the risk of being thrown away and French cheese producers are facing “great difficulty”, according to the dairy industry. To avoid the menace, the dairy industry has also rolled out a campaign called “Fromagissons” which translates to “Let’s act for cheese” and the industry is urging people to eat more cheese. “The fries are to Belgium what the cheeses are to France. So more than ever #Fromagons and save our traditional cheeses,” CNIEL, France’s umbrella organisation for the dairy industry, tweeted recently.
Meanwhile in India, agriculture is the only sector that may have positive growth this year while others such as aviation etc are staring at negative growth due to coronavirus.