Renato Zaghini, the newly elected president of the Grana Padano PDO protection Consortium, has it clear: in a time of uncertainty like this, maintaining market shares is much more important than maintaining the price level.
Exactly the opposite of what the Parmigiano Reggiano PDO protection Consortium decided at the end of June, withdrawing 320,000 wheels from the market in order to stem a 40% annual drop in prices. According to Ismea’s latest report, Parmigiano Reggiano PDO is the first Italian PDO product in terms of production value with 1.43 billion euros, but Grana Padano PDO comes second with 1.27 billion euros. Two great Consortia, two symbols of Made in Italy, two rival cheeses. And two absolutely different strategies to face the problems triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic.
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THE ‘MARKET SHARES STRATEGY’
“Today, in such a new and delicate situation, the most important thing is the continuity of consumption. Those who think they can drive the market starting from prices are deluding themselves – Zaghini says –. In terms of price we have lost more or less one euro per kilo. But right now I am more interested in families and consumers not leaving Grana Padano. Only by maintaining the same level of consumption we can maintain the same level of production. So, we adjusted the production plan for 2020 downwards, containing production between 4.8 and 5 million cheese wheels.”
GRANA PADANO PDO: THE EXPORT FRONT
Export markets are important for Grana Padano PDO as they absorb 40% of total production. This is particularly true for the horeca sector, in which the renown Italian cheese sells more abroad than in Italy. In addition to the coronavirus global health crisis, the additional tariff imposed by Trump administration have not helped either. “But contrary to what we expected – says Zaghini – despite the duties American consumers have not abandoned Grana Padano PDO. The US market is one of the most important for us, and at the moment it seems that in 2020 we will manage with a limited drop in sales: -3%.”