Cheese industry in Italy - statistics & facts
The production of cheese from cow milk was the second biggest dairy sector in terms of volume in Italy, after the production of milk. The production capacity of cheese produced with cow’s milk gradually increased in the country reaching a volume of 1.2 million tons in 2022. Most of the production volume was made up of hard cheese, as Italy is the birthplace of Grana Padano and Parmigiano Reggiano, both commercialized with the PDO quality label (Protected Designation of Origin), which indicates their specific origin and production's characteristics.
