President Antonio Auricchio comments on positive production figures (+1.9%) and export (+5%).
The Consortium for the Protection of Gorgonzola Pdo Cheese releases production figures for 2024, which stand at 5,277,959 wheels produced, the highest absolute figure ever. The figure also grows concerning the previous year. Member companies located in the fifteen production provinces straddling Piedmont and Lombardy produced 98,984 more wheels than in 2023, an increase of 1.9 %.
Regionally, Piedmont leads production with 3,822,245 total wheels (+ 1.73 % from 2023), while Lombardy stops at 1,455,714 wheels produced, but it is up 2.38%.
Antonio Auricchio, President of the Consortium Gorgonzola Pdo, comments, “I am very happy to be able to comment on the steady growth of Gorgonzola production, which is now firmly above 5 million wheels, placing us in sixth place among the certified productions of the entire national food sector and third among Italian cow’s milk pdo cheeses. The figure for the year that has just ended makes us forget the setback of 2022 and also confirms, in my opinion, the goodness of the choice, which we have always carried out with conviction, of not debasing prices while maintaining very high quality, which is one of the main reasons why we are chosen by millions of consumers all over the world”
Relative to types, there were also double-digit increases for the Gorgonzola Pdo spicy type, whose production last year stood at 738,935 wheels, 14% of the total and up 20.47% from 2023.
More than positive is also the figure for exports, which, as of September 2024, record just under 1 million 600 thousand wheels of Gorgonzola Pdo exported, up 5% compared to 2023. “Exports have always gone very well,” Auricchio continues, “I am waiting to see the data for the last quarter, but I can say that globally, there must always be favorable conditions for our products. Needless to say, the change that the new American president-elect has heralded would be disastrous. I hope our country will succeed in pursuing economic and diplomatic policies supporting Made in Italy. As recent economic data show, the agribusiness sector is a driving force that the Italian system cannot do without. These are numbers that, together with politics, we must strive to defend. As a producer, I can say that an increase in production against a contraction in exports would be disastrous.”
The production value of Gorgonzola cheese in 2023 is 430 million euros (+12% over 2022), while the export value in the same year reached 203 million euros (+38% over 2022).
Looking at commitments for 2025, Antonio Auricchio concludes, “In March, the Consortium Gorgonzola will be present at Foodex in Tokyo, where we are planning an evening at the Italian Embassy and further initiatives together with AFIDOP (Associazione Formaggi Italiani Dop) to enhance the cart of our world-renowned dairy excellence in the East as well. We will then participate in May at Tuttofood in Milan, June at Fancy Food in New York, and October at Anuga in Germany. These are key appointments to let people touch an inimitable product like Gorgonzola that the whole world envies us.”
