Dairy continues to drive Italian exports. In 2022, total cheese exports exceeded 550 thousand tons (+6%), for a turnover close to 4.2 billion euros (+19%).
Reporting the numbers is Assolatte, whose president Paolo Zanetti comments, "we burned through even the 2021 numbers, what we thought were a record that could not be repeated, with an excellent result achieved, moreover, in an incredibly unfavorable context involving producers and consumers all over the world".

Despite double-digit inflation, 2022 was indeed a year of strong growth to many countries, both European and non-European. Spain (+19 percent), which has become Italy's third largest market in the EU area, France (+12 percent), the Netherlands (+14 percent), Poland (+17 percent) and Sweden stand out in particular. In the non-EU area, on the other hand, record volumes and growth rates between 20 and 30 percent in Canada, Japan, China and Saudi Arabia. With 120,000 tons, highlights Assolatte, France is confirmed as the first market for tricolor cheeses: a more than flattering result, coming from a country of great cheeses and great dairy traditions.

An export success that also owes much to the EU's trade agreements with non-EU countries, which include the recognition of Geographical Indications, tariff quotas and the removal of tariff and non-duty barriers. For Assolatte, in fact, it is no coincidence that countries such as Canada, Japan, and China have now become strategic markets for our exports.

Recognition of Geographical Indications, on the other hand, is now the conditio sine qua non that the European Commission sets for the conclusion of any negotiations. "The enhancement of PDO and PGI products is also a strong point against those agreements that, in other respects, raise perplexities or fears -Zanetti stresses-. Such as the agreement currently being ratified with New Zealand, a country with an internal market too small to be attractive, but at the same time a major competitor of the EU in the production and export of milk and dairy products".

New Zealand, Assolatte reports, is the world's third largest exporter after the United States and the European Union. Also part of New Zealand's production are many Italian and European sounding cheeses that New Zealand exports in large quantities to Asian countries. Therefore, the need for an agreement on the recognition of protected designations is evident.

Finally, in the days when the 28th edition of Gulfood is being staged at the Dubai World Trade Center, Assolatte highlights the good performance of Italian cheeses in Middle Eastern countries, particularly in the United Arab Emirates (2,300 tons) in and Saudi Arabia (1,700), both of which have entered the new "top ten" non-EU destinations.