Gorgonzola, record production but costs and duties on the horizon

Record production and generally encouraging results on the one hand, the threat of duties and rising costs on the other. There are two sides to the balance sheet drawn during the annual assembly that brought together the 37 member companies to take stock of the state of health of Gorgonzola DOP, the protected designation of origin cheese second only to Grana Padano and Parmigiano Reggiano.

"2024 was a record year," said the President of the Consortium Antonio Auricchio, "with more than 5 million 277 thousand wheels produced, the highest figure ever, and this year's trend is also positive: on 30 April, the production of Gorgonzola DOP stood at 1,790,600 wheels (about 15 thousand more than in the same period last year) with a growth of just under 1%. Growth has never been as high as in 2024 for spicy Gorgonzola PDO (+20.34%), while production of the Bio type fell (-7.81% compared to 2023).
In Piedmont 3,822,245 wheels were produced (+1.7% compared to 2023) and in Lombardy 1,455,476 (+2.4%). In particular in Piedmont, Gorgonzola is the leading PDO product among the 24 regional certified food chains, therefore excluding wines, while in Lombardy it is the fourth denomination by value among the 34 certified food chains (source Ismea Qualivita 2023).

Auricchio emphasised the commitment of the producers, but alsothe unknowns and the not easy context in which 2025 opened: 'Between energy costs that continue to be very high, the price of milk that has risen by 12-13% compared to last year, and the climate of uncertainty caused by the trade war, there is concern for the future. At the next Summer Fancy Food, which will be held in June in New York, I will speak with the ambassador because Trump must understand that his trade policy also penalises his fellow citizens and is an operation that does not stand up economically'.

In national consumption, 2024 closed on a positive note (+2.4%) thanks to 400 thousand more households (source: YouGov). "The families that show the highest concentration and the highest average purchase levels," reads a note, "are mainly from the upper or upper-middle socio-economic class, with two members and purchase manager aged 55 or over and without children. Above-average purchasers in the North, especially in the North West, where the highest quantities purchased are also registered. In terms of purchasing channels, the supermarket generates 54.9% of the volume and 55.5% of the value; the second sales channel is the discount store (volume 21%; value 18.7%) and the traditional specialised (volume 2.4%; value 2.8%) is growing. The variable weight purchase mode at the counter accounts for more than 61% of the volumes'.

Exports, on the other hand, grew by 4.8% in 2024, for a total of 26,188 tonnes exported, of which 22,601 intra-EU (+5.4%) and the rest extra-EU (+0.8%). In total, there are 87 countries in the world where Gorgonzola was consumed in 2024; Germany and France are the first countries in terms of importance, followed by Spain, Holland and Poland. Export figures for the first two months of 2025, on the other hand, are slightly down (-1.4%). Auricchio has clear ideas on the subject: "We need politics and ICE to make these numbers grow. For our part, it is very clear that we must not retreat an inch on the very high quality that is our hallmark.