Italian cheese suppliers are urging retailers and consumers not to panic about rising prices on Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano following last week’s earthquake, and are stressing it is too early to tell exactly how much cheese has been lost.

Initial estimates suggest about 300,000 wheels of cheese - out of a total annual production of eight million wheels - were damaged in the quake, which hit northern Italy in the early hours of last Sunday (20 May) and claimed at least seven lives.

However, it is not yet clear what the split between Grana Padano and Parmigiano Reggiano is, and how many wheels can be salvaged. The Parmigiano-Reggiano Consortium said it hoped some could be transferred to other maturation stores, with others being used in food production.

Mike Mills, UK general manager at Castelli - one of the largest suppliers of Grana Padano and Parmigiano Reggiano to UK retailers - said it would take at least another week before the picture became clearer. “The area that was affected was more a Parmesan than a Grana Padano producing area, and I’ve heard some reports suggesting as many as 500,000 wheels in total could have been damaged, but it’s simply too early to estimate what effect this will have on prices,” he said.

The price of Grana and Parmesan had been falling since the beginning of the year, as demand had dropped, Mills said. “In the short term, it’s possible this decline will be stemmed, but after that it’s a waiting game.

To be sold as Parmesan, cheese has to be matured for at least 12 months, with Grana requiring nine months’ maturation.

About 25% of Italy’s Parmesan and Grana Padano production is exported. The UK is the second-largest European importer of the cheeses.

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