On the eve of its participation in the 60th edition of SIAL, set to take place from October 19-23 in Paris, the Consortium for the Protection of Gorgonzola PDO has unveiled preliminary production and export figures.
In the third quarter of 2024, production surged to 3,860,162 cheese wheels, reflecting a 1.1% increase compared to the same period last year and a 3.53% rise from 2022. September alone saw the production of 462,000 wheels of Gorgonzola PDO, with 323,637 sourced from Piedmont and 138,363 from Lombardy. Notably, Gorgonzola Piccante constituted approximately 13% of total production, translating to 62,000 wheels and marking a remarkable 53% increase compared to the same month last year.
Export performance has been equally impressive. In the first half of 2024, international markets absorbed 1,067,333 wheels, a 4% increase from the previous year.
The appetite for Gorgonzola PDO is growing not only in its traditional European markets but also worldwide. Within the EU, consumption reached 918,583 wheels, up 3.4%, while exports outside the EU hit a record 1,784 tons (148,666 wheels), a notable increase of 6.8% compared to the first half of 2023.
Breaking down the figures by country, France remains the leading importer, bringing in over 248,000 wheels (+2.3% year-on-year), followed by Germany with more than 231,000 wheels (+5.9%) and Spain at over 81,000 (+7.9%). Japan leads among non-EU countries with just under 22,000 wheels imported in the first half of this year (-0.8%), closely followed by the United States, which imported nearly 16,000 wheels (+0.4%). Exports to the UK have surged by 13%, totaling over 19,000 wheels (source: Clal data as of June 30, 2024).
Buoyed by these figures, the Consortium for Gorgonzola PDO is gearing up for SIAL 2024, where it will showcase the strength of Italian gastronomy, particularly in the dairy sector, ahead of France. At the AFIDOP collective (Hall 7 Stand 7/B109), alongside the protection consortia for Taleggio PDO, Asiago PDO, Grana Padano PDO, and Mozzarella di Bufala Campana PDO, Chef Danny Imbroisi will present five recipes designed to highlight these distinguished Italian PDO cheeses.