2023-04-29 17:17:44
In view of the picnics and open-air lunches on May 1st, the price of pecorino, a cheese traditionally paired with broad beans at this time of year, soars and even exceeds that of the even more famous Parmesan. It is the effect of the gap opened in early 2023 with the drop in production and the increase in prices with cascading consequences in supermarkets.
Pecorino beats Parmesan
The trend is certified by Ismea data: according to the Institute of Services for the Agricultural Food Market, the price of pecorino production last week exceeded 14 euros per kilo against 12 euros for 24-month aged Parmesan. In one year the increase for the first was 30%, for the second there was instead a decrease of 2%. Retail prices for sheep’s cheese have even reached 30 euros per kilo, with Parmesan instead settling at 25 euros.
Two sides of the same coin
But if for consumers it all sounds like an increase in prices, the scenario looks positively at the world of the countryside with shepherds, in particular those of Sardinia, who have had to deal with the drop in prices.
Sheep’s milk for 2 euros
«With the price of pecorino romano DOP at 14.20 euros per kilo, the price of milk will certainly reach quotations of 1.90/2 euros per liter in the cooperative system, a price that we consider satisfactory and decent – says Salvatore Piana, president of the Agricultural Studies Center of Sassari -. Seeing the valuation at 14.20 euros, which means a good 3 euros per kilo higher than the 24-month-aged Parmigiano Reggiano, almost seems like a dream».
Falling productions, rising prices
Piana underlines that «the first data collected show that this year in Sardinia there will be a slight drop in sheep’s milk production and from the calculations made a drop of 10/12% is assumed, reaching 224 million liters of milk, compared to 2022 , while the high prices of Pecorino Romano Dop cheese have led all dairies to focus mainly on this production, which according to the CSA projections, has an increase of 7% compared to the last 2022 season, reaching a quantity of 349,000 quintals, slightly higher than the 2021 season ».
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