Cheesemakers in Italy’s Parmesan-producing regions produced 147,000 tons of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese in 2017, breaking all-time records for the cheese’s production. The 3.6 million wheels of cheese sold totaled 2.2€ billion in sales and increased production by 5 percent from 2016 and 10 percent from 2014, according to Italy’s Parmigiano Reggiano consortium.
Italians are the primary consumers of Parmesan cheese – followed by the French and Germans – but exports of the cheese rose by 4 percent from 2016 to 2017, accounting for 51,000 tons and 38 percent of total production. Price per kilo also increased 14 percent from 2016, to 9.81€ per kilo in 2017.
Production and exports are expected to increase further in 2018, with an anticipated 3.7 million wheels of Parmesan.
Parmigiano Reggiano is produced in the regions of Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy and, under Italian law, only Parmesan from these areas can be labeled Parmigiano Reggiano.
By Kathy McCabe
