In 2013 Italian cheeses have conquered France with a leap of 7.6% in export corresponding to 67 thousand tons. France has been the first commercial market for Italian cheese and dairy products since years, with shipments increased at an annual rate of nearly 7% since 2004.
overall, in 2013 overseas sales of Italian cheeses came close to 322 thousand tons for a record that for the first time surpassed 2 billion euro (source Ismea on ISTAT data). The best performance has been recorded by fresh cheeses, including dairy products. Double-digit increases have also been recorded for semi-hard cheeses. For hard ones, which represent the more significant share as for sales, a 4% increase in shipments has been accompanied by a more than 1% in turnover.
Among the main destination markets, as well as in France, there has been a higher turnover in Germany (+10.4%), excellent performance in Russia (+35%), Slovenia (+37%) and Poland (+21%) too.