Cheese, exports still growing. But alarm over Chinese duties

The race for Italian cheese exports continues. Pending clarification of the scenario on the threatened Chinese duties (evoked in response to those of the EU on electric cars), foreign trade continues to grow also towards non-EU countries, where in the first six months of the year dairy companies sold more than 93 thousand tonnes of cheese, equal to 844 million euros, marking +14% and +11% respectively.

With these numbers, Assolatte informs, "Italy confirms itself on the highest step of the podium in terms of values (as, moreover, it has been doing uninterruptedly since 2019) and in second place for volumes, preceded - in this last case - only by Germany, for the moment still ahead but by a few lengths".
"An exceptional rise," testifies Paolo Zanetti, president of Assolatte, "if you consider that five years ago we were still in fifth place. Thanks to the acceleration in the last five years, we overtook Ireland, then France, and finally, in the first half of this year, the Netherlands'.

Assolatte surveys on the results of the first six months of the year confirm that we are the leading European exporter to the United States (19,800 tonnes), Switzerland (13,100 tonnes), China (6,070 tonnes), the United Arab Emirates (1,700 tonnes) and Canada (3,750 tonnes). And second in Japan, where in the first six months of the year we brought in around 6,400 tonnes of cheese, and Australia (3,300).
Among the protagonists of this success are Grana Padano and Parmigiano Reggiano, mozzarelle, burrate and ricotta, mascarpone, grated cheese, pecorino, Gorgonzola.

'We have been investing in non-European markets for years and we are finally reaping the fruits of our companies' work,' says Paolo Zanetti, 'but the future worries us, starting with China. The reference is to the investigation opened by the Chinese authorities on European and national aid to the dairy sector, which - in their opinion - allows our cheeses to arrive on their market with prices that are too competitive. There is a real risk that in a few weeks our companies will have to pay hefty duties to bring Italian cheeses to Chinese tables.

"After the grievous precedents of Russia and the United States, once again the sector will pay for faults that are not its own. The dispute with China, in fact,' Assolatte points out, 'arose in retaliation for the duties imposed by Europe on Chinese electric motors.