Italian dairy exports started 2021 with a really significant drop in value. The cumulative figure for the first two months of 2021/2020 records -8.3% in volume and -9.3% in value. In January, sales dropped by -11% in volume and -18% in value compared to January 2020.
According to the processing of Alleanza Cooperative Agroalimentari on ISTAT data about foreign trade, the negative trend is due to the collapse recorded in the first two months of the year in the USA (-30% in value and -35% in volume) and Japan (-38% in value) markets, as well as a significant decline in the European market: France (-4.1%), Germany (-5.9%), and Spain (-19.3%) above all.
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GOOD SIGNALS FROM THE USA
“Looking at exports data about last February – says the Coordinator of the dairy sector of Alleanza Cooperative Agroalimentari, Giovanni Guarneri – we are confident in a gradual recovery connected to the reopenings. In fact, positive signals are coming from the United States where imports of Italian dairy products increased significantly. The recovery of the US market, the positive effects of the vaccination campaign, and the suspension of additional duties on Italian cheeses thanks to the new approach of the Biden administration bode well for the results of the first quarter.”
Italian cheese exports in the first two months of 2021 (in value, €)
| Country | Jan-Feb 2020 | Jan-Feb 2021 | % Var. 2021/20 |
| Germany | 85,330,005 | 80,322,192 | -5.9% |
| France | 83,932,427 | 80,459,413 | -4.1% |
| Spain | 25,103,043 | 20,263,214 | -19.3% |
| USA | 64,747,348 | 45,269,133 | -30.1% |
| Japan | 16,498,640 | 10,182,086 | -38.3% |
| China | 2,434,251 | 5,437,358 | +123.4% |
| Canada | 5,772,951 | 7,111,849 | +23.2% |
| World total | 502,440,221 | 455,592,887 | -9.3% |
In the first months of 2021, Italian cheeses exports increased in China, where purchases of Grana Padano PDO and Parmigiano Reggiano PDO are growing, and in Canada where the growth of the Italian dairy market is consolidating after the slump in 2019.