Italy: Good news for PDO cheeses from the EU-New Zealand agreement

According to Assolatte, the Italian Association of Dairy Industries, with the decision to sign the EU-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, the EU Council has given a strong boost to its entry into force, which will probably take place within the first part of next year . The Italian dairy industry - explains the Association - has always expressed some perplexity about this agreement, which for milk and derivatives is decidedly biased in favor of Wellington. The Commission has made significant concessions to its New Zealand counterpart on the dairy front: 36,000 tonnes of butter will see duties gradually reduced to minimums, and also for cheeses a 25,000 tonne quota is expected to be completely liberalized in seven years. For Assolatte, however, there are important positive aspects: «With this agreement, New Zealand accepts the protocol which requires it to recognize and protect geographical indications – declared the president, Paolo Zanetti -. And with its entry into force, there ...