A 90-year anniversary is being celebrated in the cheese sector. The Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium, founded in 1934, has spent the last 90 years working to quadruple Parmigiano Reggiano production. It has also successfully transformed the cheese into a global Made in Italy icon, with an export quota of 47 percent.
“We may be 90 years old, but we feel more energetic and excited for the future than ever,” shares Nicola Bertinelli, President. “In the last few years alone, from 2020 to today, we have faced enormous challenges, from the pandemic to economic uncertainties triggered by world affairs, including increasing inflation, rising costs of raw materials, and more. At the same time, in the last three years, our consumer turnover has reached 2.9 million euros, and the export quota is up to 47 percent.”
According to a press release, the Consortium’s early years saw 2,000 dairies produce over 37,000 tons of Parmigiano Reggiano. In 2023, 292 dairies hailing from the DOP production zones (Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Mantova, the right of the Po’ River and the left of the Reno River) yielded a whopping 4 million wheels, or 160,000 tons of cheese.
Along with preserving Parmigiano Reggiano’s heritage and strict historical production, the Consortium has also worked to introduce the PDO cheese on a global stage, first illustrated in 1939 at the World Expo in New York City. In the decades since, the Consortium has deftly bolstered demand in third markets, demonstrated in a soaring exportation rate in 50 countries.
“We are currently in a moment of change that the inevitable revolutions of the future are bringing: sustainability, the management of production costs in an unpredictable world, and more,” Bertinelli continued. “These elements, central in the future of Parmigiano Reggiano PDO, will unfold in spheres that will be governed by the Consortium, which was founded on the principle of the power of collective action.”
Parmigiano Reggiano reigns as one of the oldest cheeses in the world, calling upon the same ingredients, craftsmanship, and techniques today that it did 1,000 years ago. To mark this important milestone, the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium has planned a series of events throughout the year, including a recent gala at the Italian Embassy in Paris.
For more from the press release, click here. And keep reading DMN for more industry news.
