PDO cheeses, the weight of Parmigiano di Montagna grows

Parmigiano Reggiano "Prodotto di Montagna", the certification launched by the Consortium in 2016 to give greater sustainability to the development of this area of production and offer consumers additional guarantees linked to the origin and quality of the cheese, reached 228 thousand wheels in 2022, an increase of +28% over 2016. In addition, in 2023, the production of the 83 PDO mountain dairies exceeded 861 thousand wheels (+11% over the same period).
These are some of the figures illustrated by the Consortium itself, which claims that Parmigiano Reggiano is "the most important PDO product made in the mountains", during the presentation of the 58th Parmigiano Reggiano Fair in Casina (2-5 August).

These are 'strong signs that the Consortium's policy continues to reverse a downward trend that had affected the sector until 2014. In the decade 2000-2010, in fact, the mountain territories of the area of origin witnessed the closure of as many as 60 dairies and a 10% reduction in milk production. Deficits that have been reduced to zero since 2014 thanks to the launch of the Offer Regulation Plan that, among other measures, has provided both specific discounts for producers and dairies located in mountain areas and the 'mountain' basin for milk quotas.

In 2023, therefore,more than 21% of total production was concentrated in the 83 mountain dairies scattered between the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena and Bologna to the left of the Reno river, employing over 800 farmers.
"This has made it possible to maintain agriculture in otherwise abandoned areas," the Consortium comments, "and has contributed to the development of a modern agricultural society and a landscape that is recognisable and appreciated both by its inhabitants and by the quality tourism circuit."
Another positive sign is the generational changes within the dairies: the average age of producers has dropped from 57 before 2016 to 30-40 today, a sign that young people are investing in Parmigiano Reggiano.

The presentation of the data took place at a special moment for the Consortium: 27 July marked the90th anniversary of the founding of the organisation whose function is to protect, defend and promote this thousand-year-old product, whose roots go back to the Middle Ages. This was the day chosen by the Consortium to sanction the opening of the office (corporation) in the United States, the PDO's first foreign market (thanks to the collaboration of Studio Tarter Krinsky & Drogin for US legal aspects, Studio Funaro & Co. for US fiscal aspects, and Studio Bird & Bird for cross-border legal and fiscal aspects), to be more effective in promotion and protection operations in the American market.

'Parmigiano Reggiano contributes to fortifying the economy and preserving the uniqueness of the Emilian Apennines,' said Nicola Bertinelli, president of the Consortium. The difference between PDOs and many other economic realities is that the activity cannot be delocalised, and therefore the turnover automatically becomes 'income' for the area of origin. If we add to this the fact that in 2021 one out of every two foreign tourists visited our country in relation to food and wine, the importance of PDO for the development of experiential tourism in these places becomes clear. For the Consortium, it is the territory and the community that inhabits it that is the most precious asset and our intention is to work harder and harder to preserve it and be a model of environmental, economic and social sustainability'.