Good news for the sector has arrived when needed most: the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Policies has approved the Plan for Supply Regulation of Prosciutto di Parma for the three-year period 2021-2023.

The Plan, which will enter into force on 1 January 2021, is a fundamental strategic tool for the development of the Prosciutto di Parma sector in the context of the promotion of the Italian and world food market. As with the previous Plan, the objective is to facilitate the matching of offer and demand of the product on the market, so as to ensure greater stability for the whole production chain, as well as greater protection and enhancement of the quality of the product and intrinsic value of the PDO cheese, benefitting the end consumer as well.

Today, when the global is facing deep uncertainty that is endangering entire food chains, including that of PDO Prosciutto, the Plan for Supply Regulation offers the Prosciutto di Parma sector a direction for the future, and sets itself the goal of righting the imbalances caused by the health emergency and the ones specific to the sector. It is a project of key importance to be maintained over the years in order to aim for strong, constant growth and the general well-being of the whole sector, from livestock farms to abattoirs and ham curing plants.

In order to manage production volumes and guarantee the right market balance, we need, as producers, to have an operating model that can guide us, thus preventing damage to the supply chain and all its operators. Experience has taught us to act according to the actual potential of the market and its real absorption capacity, thus avoiding crisis situations caused by reckless production increase. This system allows us to operate in a balanced way; a balance that went missing in the past and that still threatens to seriously compromise the sector because of the health emergency.

Vittorio Capanna, President of the Consortium

Prosciutto di Parma represents a significant part of the Italian agri-food sector, with a total turnover of 1.5 billion euros, and is an important production chain that has been badly hit by the pandemic through the closure of the HoReCa channel and the reduction of large retail store sales, especially during the first wave. In this time of widespread difficulties, Italian quality products must take any action and use any tool that may contribute to support business and the very survival of the sector.

We are sure that this production planning project will bring many advantages to the entire sector and therefore I would like to thank the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Policies and the Emilia-Romagna Region for their support and collaboration and for approving swiftly and with great sensitivity and attention our Plan for Supply Regulation, at a time of operational difficulties for Public Administration as well.

Stefano Fanti, General Manager of the Consortium

The newly approved Plan for Supply Regulation of will have a duration of three years; production goals can be reviewed annually in order to maximize the effectiveness of the adopted measures and align them to changing market conditions, with specific reference to the definition of the equilibrium point of the sector.