Exports grow, but fears for the duties promised by Trump. The Assembly of the Protection Consortium approves the multi-year production and strategic plans.

One million more Grana Padano Dop wheels sold by 2028, with one billion euros of new value created and generating a total of 4.7 billion euros, with an increase of 27% compared to 2023: these are the goals indicated in the production and strategic plans approved today at the Montichiari Exhibition Centre (BS) by the six-monthly General Assembly of the Protection Consortium, which in the period January - October 2024 saw the threshold of 4,667,885 wheels produced, reached in the same period last year, exceeded by 3.01%.

The Production Plan, which obtained over 96% of the consensus with an assembly attended by 95% of those entitled to vote, will look at the three-year period 2025-2027, but will be extendable to the following one 2028-2030, therefore with a setting and a progression already thought out over 6 years. It has an expansive perspective and aims for an annual growth of around 3% to reach 7 million forms produced and marketed by the end of 2030.

“The growth trend will certainly be higher than the physiological growth of Lombardy-Veneto-Piacenza milk,” underlined the president of the Protection Consortium, Renato Zaghini , in his speech. “Therefore, the Plan will pay particular attention to smaller dairies to give them the opportunity to grow and aims to distribute equally across the entire supply chain the advantages that Grana Padano cheese offers compared to other destinations of silage-fed milk. It is known that in Europe, for many years now, the transformation into our cheese is the most profitable for milk obtained with this feed, because it allows revenues that allow the stables to significantly exceed the threshold necessary to compensate for production efforts.”

The adoption of this essential tool for the future of the Grana Padano system must constantly gather a qualified majority among the consortium members and the stables. “This requirement requires the consortium leaders to always be listening”, recalled the president of the Consortium, “and to always have an active open and democratic dialogue with the entire supply chain”.

The Production Plan will therefore orient production based on market growth in a flexible way and will guarantee the resources needed to accompany the growth of consumption, especially abroad, where it already exceeds 52% of total sales. "The only very recent concern is that Trump's victory could lead to the adoption of duties, which in his previous mandate greatly penalized our exports to the USA", recalls Zaghini . "We will do everything we can to convince the system to avoid these arbitrary penalties". The other tool adopted by the General Assembly, the Strategic Plan 2024-2028, created with the support of Kpmg and approved unanimously, will be fundamental to supporting the effort of the supply chain. It expresses the ambition to plan the future of the Grana Padano Consortium and the entire supply chain, tracing a path that aims to strengthen the leadership of the most consumed and least fatty PDO cheese in the world, as well as promoting the constant improvement of the product and innovation of the production process.

“The vision that guides the Grana Padano strategy is to “become the cheese that symbolizes Italianness in the world”, explained the president, “while the pillars that guide us in every action remain quality, safety, sustainability and inclusiveness”. These ambitions will be supported by a product that is able to increasingly satisfy new consumer preferences and increasingly modern production processes, introducing a new model of engagement with Retail Italy and expanding the strategic areas of focus abroad, with the addition of ten new target markets, destined to play a key role in the international expansion of Grana Padano.

“With a new significant marketing budget of 52 million euros, the Grana Padano Consortium is preparing to face future challenges with renewed energy and determination to become an increasingly global brand,” explains General Manager Stefano Berni . “The investments will allow, among the various initiatives in Piano, to also enhance the sponsorship of Milan-Cortina 2026 and support the launch of a new marketing campaign.”

Among the lines of intervention of the Strategic Plan, a new and distinctive evolution of the role of the Consortium is also outlined: an organizational model capable of promoting the training and specialization of personnel, accompanied by a renewed and strengthened service model to support the consortium members to further increase the value generated. This transformation will also be accompanied by an evolution of the physical infrastructures, with a project to enhance the existing assets, and by an enhancement of the technological infrastructures, creating an innovative and efficiency-oriented ecosystem.

“To achieve the ambitious goals of the 2024-2028 Strategic Plan", concludes Berni , "a collective commitment by all consortium members will be essential. The plan does not represent a point of arrival, but a starting point towards shared and sustainable growth". The Assembly finally approved the provisions on the Production Regulations with over 99% of the votes.