‘It was open, we used it’: Assolatte defends 'disproportionate' Italian cheese PSA use

02-Oct-2014 - Last updated on 06-Oct-2014 at 15:32 GMT

The PSA scheme was better suited for Italian cheeses, such as Parmesan, that require long maturation periods, said Assolatte.

The Italian Dairy Association (Assolatte) has defended the “disproportionate” use of European Commission (EC) private storage aid (PSA) by Italian cheesemakers that led to the scheme's closure.

The EC announced on September 23 it was closing PSA for cheese - provided three weeks earlier in the wake of the Russian embargo - after a “disproportionate surge in interest from cheese producers in certain regions not traditionally exporting significant quantities to Russia.”

Between its September 5 launch and September 28, 100,803 tonnes of cheese was offered into the EC-supported private storage scheme by European Union (EU) Member States.

Of this, Italy, which exported 7,207 tonnes of cheese to Russia in 2013, accounted for 84,120 tonnes.

Defending this figure, a spokesperson for Assolatte, known in Italy as Associazione Italiana Lattiero Casearia, said no limits were set by the EC.

“The regulation was open to all cheese,” the spokesperson told DairyReporter.com. “The Italians just used it.”

“We don’t export much to Russia, but they didn’t put a limit on specific Member States.”

“It was open, we used it. There is nothing strange about that," said the spokesperson.

The EC failed to respond to a request for comment on Assolatte’s stance.

"Open to all cheese"

The EC announced on August 28 it would help finance the cost of temporary storage for butter, skimmed milk powder (SMP), and cheese registered under the EU protected designation of origin (PDO) and protected geographical indication (PGI) schemes for between 90 and 210 days.

The actions were designed to alleviate the impact of the one-year Russian ban on the import of beef, pork, poultry, fruit, vegetables, cheese, and milk from the EU, US, Australia, Canada, and Norway.

Given that 250,000 tonnes of cheese, worth €980m (US$1.3bn), was exported from the EU to Russia in 2013, “exceptional measures” were taken to “cover the variety of cheese exported to Russia.”

The EC unveiled the “temporary exceptional” PSA scheme for cheese on September 4.

Following the PSA closure, a source told DairyReporter.com that Italian manufacturers of cheese registered under the PDO and PGI schemes had used taken advantage of the EC assistance to “cover structural issues rather than the impact of the Russian embargo.”

The Netherlands (6,098 tonnes), Ireland (7,109), Sweden (2,375), France (423), Austria (419), Lithuania (170), Germany (57), and Latvia (30) accounted for the remaining 16,683 tonnes.

Commenting on the figures, Assolatte argued simply that Italian cheeses, which are traditionally matured for longer periods, were better suited to the PSA scheme, which offered aid only where the storage period was between 60 and 210 days.

“We make a lot of cheese with long maturation periods,” said the spokesperson. “Cheeses made in other Member States have shorter maturation periods.”

“Their cheeses are just not suitable for this regulation.”

“It was open to all cheese, except soft cheese. If they decide not to use it, they decide not to use it.”

Concluding, the spokesperson added: “This was a problem for the dairy market, not specifically a problem for dairies that export to Russia.”