# Emilia-Romagna food, in production figures

> Parmigiano Reggiano turned over €3.96 billion in 2025 and Parma branded 6,750,000 hams. Three protected names, their dates and their real scale.

URL: https://myitalia.it/food/in-emilia-romagna
Last updated: 2026-09-02

Three protected names carry this region and all three publish their own numbers: Parmigiano Reggiano turned over €3.96 billion in 2025, Parma branded 6,750,000 hams, and balsamic vinegar exported more than €380 million.

## Parmigiano Reggiano: €3.96 billion, half of it abroad

Parmigiano Reggiano reached €3.96 billion at consumer prices in 2025, with exports accounting for 50.5% of sales and 74,980 tonnes leaving the country. It is the Italian protected food with the largest turnover.

Output that year was 4.19 million wheels, up 2.7% on 2024. Grana Padano makes more cheese by volume, but no primary source publishes its consumer value, so the ranking above is about money rather than tonnage.

The name entered the EU register on June 21, 1996. The production zone crosses a regional border into Mantova, in Lombardy, on the right bank of the Po, so the map of the cheese and the map of Emilia-Romagna are not the same shape.

## Prosciutto di Parma: 126 producers, 6.75 million hams

Parma branded 6,750,000 hams in 2025, worth €810 million at production and €1.6 billion at consumer prices, from 126 producing companies, with €315 million of exports.

126 companies for 6,750,000 hams tells you these are curing houses on an industrial calendar, not farms. Visits are arranged directly with the producer and follow the curing calendar.

Careful with a figure circulating in 2026 press coverage: "over 7.1 million legs sealed" counts a different stage of the process from the branded hams above. The two numbers are not interchangeable.

## Aceto Balsamico di Modena: an export product

Balsamic vinegar of Modena exported more than €380 million at production value in 2025, up 2.6% on 2024, for an estimated consumer value of around €1 billion, from 59 certified producers.

The IGP dates from 2009, later than the other two names on this page, and the product is overwhelmingly made for markets outside Italy. Tasting rooms exist because visitors ask for them, not because the trade depends on them.

## What this changes about a food trip

Three registrations, three towns, three completely different scales of operation: a dairy works before dawn on a daily cycle, a curing house works on a calendar of months, and an acetaia works on one of decades.

Every figure on this page comes from the relevant producers' consortium, which is a primary source and an interested one. None of them has been cross checked against an independent count, and we would rather say so than round the numbers.

For the itinerary that visits all three, see [five days in Emilia](/itineraries/5-days-emilia-food).

## FAQ

### Which Italian protected food is worth the most?

Parmigiano Reggiano, on 2025 consortium figures: €3.96 billion at consumer prices, with exports at 50.5% of sales and 74,980 tonnes shipped abroad. Grana Padano beats it on volume but its consumer value was not available from a primary source.

### When were these names registered?

Parmigiano Reggiano DOP and Prosciutto di Parma DOP both entered the EU register on June 21, 1996, and Aceto Balsamico di Modena IGP followed in 2009. The dates come from eAmbrosia, the EU register itself.

### How many Parma ham producers are there?

126 companies branded 6,750,000 hams in 2025, worth €810 million at production and €1.6 billion at consumer prices, with €315 million exported. Some 2026 press releases quote over 7.1 million sealed legs, which counts a different thing.

### Is Parmigiano Reggiano made only in Emilia-Romagna?

No. The zone includes the Lombard province of Mantova on the right bank of the Po, which produced 524,000 wheels in 2025. The region and the production zone are not the same boundary, and the difference is 524,000 wheels.

## Sources

| Fact | Source | Confidence | Valid until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Il Parmigiano Reggiano DOP e registrato nel registro UE dal 21 giugno 1996 ed e la DOP agroalimentare italiana con il maggior giro d'affari (3,96 miliardi di euro al consumo nel 2025). | [MASAF - Elenco DOP e IGP prodotti agricoli (PDF, agg. 11/06/2026)](https://www.masaf.gov.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeAttachment.php/L/IT/D/1%252Fa%252F2%252FD.e7bdb4ebe6d458c7925a/P/BLOB%3AID%3D15453/E/pdf?mode=download); [Commissione europea - DG AGRI, registro eAmbrosia](https://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/eambrosia/geographical-indications-register/); [Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano Reggiano](https://www.parmigianoreggiano.com/it/news/dati-economici-2026) | high | 2099-12-31 |
| Nel 2025 sono state prodotte 4,19 milioni di forme di Parmigiano Reggiano DOP (+2,7% sul 2024), pari a circa 168.000 tonnellate. | [Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano Reggiano](https://www.parmigianoreggiano.com/it/news/dati-economici-2026) | medium | 2027-06-30 |
| Il giro d'affari al consumo del Parmigiano Reggiano DOP ha raggiunto 3,96 miliardi di euro nel 2025, con l'export pari al 50,5% delle vendite (74.980 tonnellate). | [Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano Reggiano](https://www.parmigianoreggiano.com/it/news/dati-economici-2026) | medium | 2027-06-30 |
| Nel 2025 sono stati marchiati 6.750.000 Prosciutti di Parma DOP, per un valore alla produzione di 810 milioni di euro e un fatturato al consumo di 1,6 miliardi di euro. | [Consorzio del Prosciutto di Parma](https://www.prosciuttodiparma.com/en/parma-ham-consortium/) | medium | 2027-06-30 |
| Nel 2025 l'export dell'Aceto Balsamico di Modena IGP ha superato i 380 milioni di euro alla produzione (+2,6% sul 2024), per un valore stimato al consumo di circa 1 miliardo di euro. | [Consorzio Tutela Aceto Balsamico di Modena IGP](https://www.consorziobalsamico.it/news-blog/aceto-balsamico-di-modena-igp-93-milioni-di-litri-e-record-di-export-globale/) | medium | 2027-06-30 |

## Image

https://media.myitalia.it/media/region.emilia-romagna.v2.1600.jpg
Author: Carlo Pelagalli. License: CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0).
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brisighella,_Panorama_dalla_Rocca_Manfrediana._A_sinistra_la_Torre_dell%27Orologio_-_panoramio.jpg

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