Italy’s Grana Padano cheese celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2024 with exports of over 2.68 million forms, reflecting an increase of over 9.15% compared with 2023.
Grana Padano also retained its position as the top-selling hard cheese in Italy with a 42.5% market share and an average price of €17 per kilogram.
The Grana Padano Consortium, consisting of 135 dairies, produced over 5.6 million Grana cheese forms during the year.
Europe was the leading destination, accounting for 82% of the total exports with Germany buying 633,718 forms (+8.12%), followed by France at 319,205 (+10%).
The biggest market outside of Europe continued to be the United States, which imported 215,037 wheels, or an increase of 10.5%.
Grana Padano producers are concerned about potential new tariffs, but remain optimistic. Stefano Berni, the consortium’s general manager, expressed confidence that the government would lessen the impact of any tariffs imposed by Trump.
He emphasized that Grana Padano is already actively pursuing export markets beyond the US, which accounts for less than 8% of their exports.
The consortium plans a 3% production increase in 2025 and will invest €53 million in promotion. They urged against implementation of tariffs, highlighting the negative impact on consumers, and emphasised the cheese’s value and quality.
Parmigiano Reggiano
Elsewhere, Parmigiano Reggiano sales hit €3.2 billion in 2024, or a 4.9% year-on-year increase driven by a 13.7% surge in exports, which now represent 48.7% of total sales.
Prices of Parmigiano Reggiano also rose. The average price for 12-month aged cheese increased by 9% to €11.0 per kilogram, while the price for 24-month aged cheese saw a 5% increase to €12.5 per kilogram.
While Italy remained the largest market for Parmigiano Reggiano, accounting for just over half of sales (a 5.2% increase from 2023), exports played a crucial role, nearing half of total sales.
Unlike Grana Padano, the US was the leading export market for Parmigiano Reggiano with 16,286 tonnes of cheese sold. France followed in second place, with 14,779 tonnes, and Germany in third place with 10,319 tonnes.
While concerned about US tariffs, the president of the Parmigiano Reggiano consortium, Nicola Bertinelli, is confident about the premium product’s resilience and advocates for EU-level negotiations.
Beyond the US, other international markets also showed strong growth for the Parmigiano Reggiano consortium’s 291 dairies.
France, Germany, the UK, and Canada all saw significant increases in purchases, with Canada experiencing particularly rapid growth of 24.5%.
Despite this rising demand, Parmigiano Reggiano production remained relatively steady at just over four million wheels.