Production of Italy’s prized parmesan cheese, Parmigiano-Reggiano, set a new record in 2017, ending the year with a volume of 3.65 million units, compared to 3.46 million a year earlier.
According to the Parmigiano-Reggiano Consortium, production was up 5.2% on 2016, corresponding to an additional 180,697 units.
As a result, revenues increased to €27.34 million, compared to €23.03 million in 2016, mainly deriving from contributions that dairies must pay to the consortium to produce the DOP cheese.
New Markets
The consortium has been working since 2017 to find new market opportunities, as well as investing in communication and marketing campaigns. In 2017, more than €15.2 million was invested in promotional activities, compared to €12.6 million in the previous year.
According to consortium president Nicola Bertinelli, increased production also brings with it a risk of falling prices, with the group eager to maintain a strong price point for the cheese.
Bertinelli also revealed that the first months of 2018 have already seen a further increase in production that will likely see the number of units produced to 3.7 million this year.
The assembly of the consortium, meeting in Parma earlier this month, agreed to modify the 2017-2019 production plan and approved the 2020-2020 plan, however, the agreement must be approved by dairies and breeders, and then be submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture for approval.
Grana Padano
Meanwhile, Italian farmers’ association Coldiretti has said that, in January, the price of Grana Padano – a cheese comparable to Parmigiano-Reggiano – dropped to its lowest level in the last eight years, reaching €6.10 per kilo for ten-month mature cheese.
Impacting on Grana Padano's performance are an increased number of 'fake' products, from both Italy and abroad, which undermine the domestic market.
Coldiretti points out that almost two out of three 'Italian' food products abroad falsely use words, colours, places, images, names and recipes that refer to Italy, despite said products having nothing to do with the country.
The highest proportion of 'false' Italian products are found in the cheese category, such as Parmesan from the US, Parmesano in Uruguay, Reggianito in Argentina, or Parmesão in Brazil.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
