By Alberto Chiumento
(Reuters) – Exports of Italy’s famous Grana Padano cheese rose to a record high last year, its producers’ association said, while expressing concern for the impact of tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trump, who is due to discuss tariffs with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday, last week announced a 90-day pause on 20% levies for most goods imported from Europe, but left in place a standard 10% minimum tariff.
In 2024 Italy exported 51.2% of its total production of 5.6 million wheels of Grana Padano, up 9.2% from 2023, the producers’ association Consorzio Tutela Grana Padano said in a Wednesday statement.
Grana Padano is a seasoned, hard cheese typically grated to garnish pasta dishes. Each Grana Padano wheel weighs 24 to 40 kg (52.91 to 88.18 lb), requiring up to 500 liters (132.09 gallons) of cow’s milk.
Another certified variety is Parmigiano Reggiano, whose total production is lower, reaching about 4.1 million wheels of cheese.
The U.S. was the third-largest export market for Grana Padano behind Germany and France, with a 10% year-on-year increase in sales, the association said. The exports generate about 2.2 billion euros a year, it noted.
Renato Zaghini, president of the trade body, called U.S. tariffs a “serious drawback,” but remained confident that producers would be able to weather them as they did when Trump introduced other tariffs in his first presidential term.
(Reporting by Alberto Chiumento; editing by Alvise Armellini and Richard Chang)
