Exports of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese rose by 13.2% during 2015, the biggest rise in a decade, according to Italy’s Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium. Among this double-digit growth, it can be stressed that the share of products destined for international markets grew to account for 35% of the total and stood at 46,700 tonnes. In particular, as data showed, export to the US grew by 34%, making it the second biggest foreign market for the sector after France. But double-digit growth was also recorded in The Netherlands (20%), Spain (18%), and Greece (15%).
The reason for booming sales should give pause for quality and prices – “We worked out a lot of improvements in terms of quality but, at the same time, we need to register that the weak dollar provided opportunities for exporting more at convenient prices,” said Riccardo Deserti, Italy’s Consortium director. The consortium said the growth had been achieved despite the continuing problem of foreign imitations of the famous Italian cheese. In the home country, the domestic demand shows some positive results while it has to be determined if the downturn will come definitely to end.