South Korea opens its doors to the Italian cheese. The Ministry of food and drug security of South Korea has recognized the suitability of import in the Asian country of Pdo Grana Padano and Parmigiano Reggiano. The Korean authorities verified that the microbiological safety of these items appears to be comparable to that of cheese made with pasteurized milk.It was then solved a commercial dispute that had caused extensive damage to exports (-21% in the first eleven months of the year for the Customs Code which includes Grana and Parmigiano) and blocking the trade of two products by early 2014.
The South Korean market for Italian food has passed the 124 million euro of value, an increase of almost 30% from 2012, and is an important commercial outlet for Italy in the Asian context. “Grana Padano and Parmigiano Reggiano – explained the Minister of Italian Agriculture Maurizio Martina – will be finally going to be sold in South Korea. I am very pleased with the positive resolution of a trade dispute, which damaged the export of two of our most valued excellence in the world. The work conducted in coordination with the Ministries of Economic Development, Health and Foreign led to a proper recognition of the work of our companies and their high production standards and control”
“We will continue to push – concludes Martina – because it is a clear need to recover market space now occupied by fake made in Italy as well as Italian sounding products on the shelves of US and international supermarket. We have supported over the years the diplomatic work in Brussels to conclude bilateral treaties that would provide for the recognition and protection of our names in third countries. Recently we have achieved important results with the EU-Canada agreement, opening up new possibilities for the Italian agro-food exports that already worth 34 billion euro”.