Exports of Italian Grana Padano cheese have grown by 7.55% on annual basis in the period January to October 2016, according to the president of the Grana Padano Consortium.
The hard, slow-ripened, semi-fat cheese is the most consumed DOP product in the world, with an annual production of over 4.8 million units.
Speaking at the annual assembly of the Consortium in Sirmione, Nicola Cesare Baldrighi said growth in September alone reached 14%, compensating for the 2% decrease on the domestic market. He explained that Grana Padano continues to grow internationally because the Italian cheese is seen as a synonym for high quality.
According to Baldrighi, Grana Padano, along with all the other 290 Italian D.O.P., PGI and STG products, “must be defended and protected at every institutional level, starting from the EU, with specific, clear and rigorous measures put into place to protect them from forgery”.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
