Italy Breaks Cheese Export Record
ITALY – Italian cheese exports reached new highs last year taking the country to fourth in the European cheese shipping table, the Italian Dairy Association (Assolatte) has announced.
3 April 2014
1 minute read
Official data shows a 7.2 per cent increase in cheese sold abroad, amounting to almost 322,000 tonnes in 2013 with the Netherlands, Germany and France being the only EU countries exporting more.
Assolatte confirmed France as the number one buyer which, when combined with Germany and the UK, accounts for 43 per cent of Italy’s cheese exports.
Earnings broke the €2 billion barrier, despite an average price reduction of three per cent, enforced to maintain sales during economic turmoil.
“We must now work on the competitive ability in the industry,” said Assolatte President Adirano Hribal.
He stressed the need for a robust recovery in domestic buying, adding that farmers need a break from competing against other producers with lower production costs.
And he added: “The future of the dairy industry is all about competitive play, not only on the international market but within Italy.
“We are in desperate need of an injection of confidence to for the recovery of consumption.”
TheCattleSite News Desk
