Icelandic Dairy Produce Marketing Association. Dairy industry in Iceland. Scandinavian cheeses. Agricultural products.

The Icelandic Dairy Produce Marketing Association (IDPMA) handles all marketing and sales of cheese for all dairies in Iceland, packaging of hard cheeses, and sales of butter, related products and milk powder. Quality control of all cheeses and dairy spreads produced in Iceland is conducted at the IDPMA research laboratory.

Icelandic Dairy products

IDPMA is the largest company of its kind in Iceland, and steadily growing. Annual cheese consumption in Iceland is 22 kg per capita, one of the highest levels in the world. In 1958, the year IDPMA was established, the annual cheese consumption was only 2.5 kg per capita.
The company employs a staff of 100 and has an annual sales turnover of ISK 4.5 billion. Total sales of dairy products amount to around 5,400 tonnes, of which cheese accounts for 72%.

Icelandic cheeses have repeatedly won prizes in international competitions. Some 100 varieties are produced – an incredible figure given that only seven dairies are responsible for their production, serving a market of only 285,000 people. Icelandic consumers keep a close watch on trends elsewhere in the world, have firm faith in technology, make high demands for product quality and take a keen interest in health and nutrition issues.

Quality
In terms of purity and quality, Icelandic dairy produce is virtually in a class of its own.
The industry’s greatest asset remains its access to pure products from the fresh air, clean water and unpolluted soil of Icelandic nature. Research has consistently revealed the exceptionally high purity of Icelandic agricultural produce, which has always been governed by particularly stringent rules. Hormones are prohibited in Iceland and pesticides are not used. Combined with a rather cold and windy climate, this means that produce is purer and healthier from the start than that from most environments elsewhere.

Quality control systems. Precious raw material calls for top-quality handling. IDPMA was Iceland’s first agricultural producer to establish an active quality control system conforming to the ISO 9001 standard. The company also employs a certificated HACCP quality control system.

Market services
IDPMA strives to provide customers with an outstanding level of service and reliable, accessible information about its products.

Wholesale and distribution. IDPMA does business with virtually all retail food outlets, most restaurants, schools and private and public sector canteens in Iceland.

Imports and exports. The company is the largest importer of cheese in Iceland. In recent years exports, mainly butter, have accounted for an average of 6-10% of total sales volume. Main market regions are North and Central America, Western Europe, the Middle East and South Africa. Exports are a growing part of IDPMA activities.

cheese from Scandinavia