During the press conference at Palazzo Giureconsulti in Milan, the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium presented the economic data for 2022. In a year in which food consumption in Italy decreased by -4.2% and cheese consumption by -3 % in volumes, the most loved and most awarded PDO in the world closed 2022 with positive data in terms of sales and prices: the consumer turnover reaches an all-time high of 2.9 billion euros against 2.7 billion in 2021, with an increase of +6.9% (156,620 tons vs 152,690 tons in 2021, +2.6%). Volumes on international markets also reached the maximum, growing by +3% (64,202 tons vs 62,351) and the value generated in production with 1.8 billion euros against 1.71 billion in 2021.

As a distribution of consumption, the Parmigiano Reggiano market is becoming more and more international: the export share increases by two percentage points, rising to 47%. First in development, Spain (+11.3% with 1,602 tons vs 1,439 in 2021); the United States, the leading foreign market for PDO (+8.7% with 13,981 tons vs 12,867), and France (+7.2% with 12,944 tons vs 12,077 tons) also did well. Good results also in Japan, which grew by +38.8% (1,010 tons vs 728), Australia, which recorded +22.7% (713 tons vs 581) and Canada, with +6.3% (3,556 tons vs 3,345).
The Italian share stands at 53%.

As far as distribution channels are concerned, large-scale distribution remains first (62.3%), followed by industry (17.5%), which benefits from the growing popularity of products characterized by the presence of Parmigiano Reggiano among the ingredients, and from sales directly from dairies, which recorded a strong increase (+5.3%). The Horeca channel remains at the rear, and therefore enormous potential for development, accounting for 9.2% of the total. The remaining 11% is distributed in other sales channels.

On the markets, the price of Parmigiano Reggiano in 2022 recorded an annual average of 10.65 euros per kilo (12-month Parmigiano Reggiano from a producer dairy), up compared to 2021, when it stood at 10.34 euros per kilo. Production is slightly down compared to 2021, the year in history in which more wheels were produced: 4.002 million wheels vs 4.091 million (-2.2%).