Official data, presented by farming association Coldiretti, show a 8% per cent increase in cheese sold abroad, starting from January to August 2015 over the same period of the previous year, with France, Usa and China being the countries buying more Italian cheese.
Coldiretti confirmed European Union countries as the number one buyers, which account of about three quarters of Italy’s cheese export. Despite a economic turmoil, Italy enforced to maintain sales to European Union where the export’s rate increased up to 10% over the same time period. France appears to be acquiring a taste for Italian dairy as well, with export volumes to this country up to 2%. In contrast, export of French cheese to domestic market decreased starting from January to August 2015 over the same period of the previous year. Among major international export destinations, demand for premium cheese is especially robust in the Usa (18%), and appetite for Italian cheese is growing significantly in China (39%).
The increase in cheese export sales mirrors a rise in Italian premium quality production, which farming association Coldiretti has attributed to strong research and development of raw materials. For example, Italy has extremely large family of cheeses of certified quality and the of Pdo Italian cheeses includes 48 items, while French Pdo are 45, the report stressed. Perhaps surprisingly, Italy ranks seven in the list of the countries where people consume the most cheese on a yearly basis, the farming association pointed out. According to recent data, the average member of the Italy eats 20.7 kg of cheese a year. But there are countries where people eats much more cheese, and the following list outlines the several ones where cheese consumption is higher: France, Island, Finland, Germany, Estonia, Switzerland.