The agreement has been signed between the Sardinian Cao Formaggi and GranTerre Group, one of the leaders in the production of Parmigiano and Grana cheese. The aim of the alliance, presented in Oristano, is to join forces to "enhance even more the trends of hard cheeses on foreign markets". It emphasizes the official communiqué with which Granterre and Cao have announced the decision to give life "a strategic alliance for the development of pecorino cheese and in particular of a great PDO such as Pecorino Romano, especially abroad, where this Italian excellence is gaining absolute importance in the field of hard cheeses".

The agreement was signed thanks to the common integration in the cooperative chain governed by Consorzio Granterre Soc. Coop., Cao Formaggi Soc. Coop., the main national cooperative for the collection and processing of sheep’s milk with almost 800 holdings of the contributing members (distributed throughout the territory of Sardinia), and Granterre s.p.a., commercial company of the Granterre s.p.a. Group, market leader in Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano cheeses. 

"The interest in Italian PDO and PGI cheeses abroad -underlines the joint note- is due not only to the great variety of products and their quality but also to the Italian dairy tradition, their link with the production area and the possibility of offering a unique product for qualitative and nutritional connotations, according to standards of absolute health and organoleptic reliability that can be guaranteed on a large scale".

In 2022, according to recent data released by Assolatte, that is the Italian Dairy Association, the export quota exceeded 550 thousand tons, up 6% compared to the previous year, with a positive trend in 2023: in hard cheeses, the main products exported were precisely Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana Padano and Pecorino Romano, triad of products able to offer foreign consumers not only a safe orientation under the strict production disciplinary, but also an offer of taste that makes it the protagonist, thanks to the various seasonings and textures.

"With the alliance with our partner cooperator Cao Formaggi -explain Enrico Manni and Milo Pacchioni, respectively president of Consorzio Granterre Soc.coop. and Granterre Group- continues the process of aggregation started some time ago with the excellence of Parmigiano Reggiano branded 'Parmareggio', then passed through the acquisition of the Agriform business branch in 2021, which brought with it Grana Padano, cheese Piave and Asiago, and today landed at what we believe can become the "third pillar" of our offer, namely the Pecorino Romano DOP. From today we can say with pride that Granterre Group, thanks to Cao, finally becomes the 'national champion' of cheese, as well as the delicatessen" as attested 1.6 billion Euro worldwide sales "and, above all, as the more than 3,000 total breeders that animate our cooperative group deserve".

"The opportunities -underlines Renato Illotto, president of Cao Formaggi- to concentrate our efforts in the care of the Granterre cooperative chain dedicated to foreign markets of our flagship product, namely Pecorino Romano, makes us confident that we can multiply not only the production but also the optimal allocation of the work of our members, within a broader strategy that takes into account the specificities of these markets and the characteristics of the cheeses themselves".

"The dairy sector represents -adds Maurizio Moscatelli, general manager of Granterre Dairies and coordinator of the Commercial and Marketing policies of the Modena Group- one of the excellence of Italian agri-food, with high quality products, authenticity and typicality, appreciated and recognized worldwide. The strong presence on foreign markets and the opportunities offered by the growing demand for Italian dairy products represent an opportunity that Italian companies cannot miss: our Group, today thanks to the alliance with Cao, will be able to benefit even more from these market trends and move towards significant investments, such as the development of subsidiaries and commercial platforms in the most important markets such as the US, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and other rapidly developing countries".

"This strategic agreement, which could be extended in the future to areas not only commercial -concludes Gavino Nieddu, director general of Cao Formaggi- we believe can be the basis to support the important development policy, supported by important investments, started for several years by our company. We are confident that we can offer our breeders more solid prospects for the future".