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Casar de Cáceres, February 22

The Torta del Casar Protected Designation of Origin Regulatory Council closed 2022 with record numbers, certifying 360,616 kilos of cheese last season. La Torta del Casar has achieved a turnover of 9,072,689.83 euros in 2022, 13.62% more than the previous year.

The Regulatory Council of the D.O.P. Torta del Casar has closed the 2022 financial year with 22 registered farms, 14,700 head of cattle, a milk collection center and six industries in certified production. Total milk production has decreased by 3.14% compared to 2021, from 2,925,720 to 2,833,898. The president of the Regulatory Council, Ángel Juan Pacheco, has reported that the number of farms that in 2021 "miraculously, but losing head of cattle and therefore milk production" is maintained. Along these lines, he stressed that "as in previous years, the risk persists that the milk production activity, which is highly sacrificed, will decrease by not incorporating young farmers. As long as the average age of the owners of the farms is higher than the 61 years old, we have a very serious threat to the sector."

However, this year, the milk destined for transformation into cheese has grown compared to 2021, going from 1,964,720 liters (67.15% of the total) to 2,212,943 liters (78.09% of the total). Pacheco explained that "this is the highest figure in this series because cheese factories have demanded more milk because sales forecasts have been good throughout the year. This has also meant that the certification rate has risen, reaching 88.86% of the cheese made under the quality standard of the D.O.P."

Certification of Torta del Casar

During this year, 360,616 kilos of cheese have been certified, which has translated into 758,532 units of Torta del Casar placed on the market, which globally means significant growth compared to 2021, with more than 11% kilograms and almost 15 .5% of units. By Torta del Casar formats, of the units sold, 506,333 were in a format of less than 500 grams (30.6% more than in 2021), 226,037 in a format between 500 and 900 grams (8.3% decrease ), and 26,162 format units of more than 900 grams (15.8% more). The director of the Regulatory Council, Javier Muñoz, has highlighted that "the small format has advanced spectacularly, with 66.8% of the total number of units already certified, and although this format is very laborious for cheese factories because it requires a highly controlled production management, allows them to better comply with their clients and reach more final audiences".

sales distribution

The sales of Torta del Casar have been distributed throughout the year in a more balanced way than in the rest of the compared periods of other years, with few differences between the calendar quarters, when it is normal for there to be a significant increase in the period from October to December. In this sense, the director of the Regulatory Council, Javier Muñoz, has expressed that "it is possibly due to the effect of the increase in sales to large retailers, which maintains a fairly constant replacement rate. However, this behavior will have to continue to be observed to see if it settles in time”.

Regarding territorial distribution, the proportion marketed in Spain has continued to be the majority, with 96.15% compared to 3.85% of sales abroad.

The national market, with 346,722 kilos, has been distributed as follows: In Extremadura it amounts to 133,784 kilos; in the Community of Madrid and downtown area 108,909 kilos; in Catalonia and the Valencian Community 57,595; Andalusia 32,383; in Galicia and the Cantabrian coast 5,973, and in the rest of Spain 8,078 kilos. The director has stated that "Extremadura and Madrid and the Central Zone continue to be the large consumers, both in absolute terms and in relative increases compared to 2021, with a slight drop being observed in Andalusia and the Mediterranean arc", to which he added that " This growth in Madrid is also a consequence of the entry of large-scale distribution, since a lot of Torta del Casar is sent to the platforms located there, although it is later distributed to other geographical areas”.

Regarding exports, of the 13,894 kilos, 74.8% was sold in Europe (10,388 kilos), in the area of ​​the United States, Canada and Latin America 18.3% of exports (2,550 kilos) were sold. 3.2% (439 kilos) were sold in the Middle East, with the remaining 3.7% (518 kilos) sold in other parts of the world. "Exports have grown compared to 2021, with Europe gaining in kilos, but losing relative share, the American continent growing slightly, and the Middle East area appearing for the first time in a disaggregated manner, although sales abroad continue to be very low , without reaching 4% of the total”, explained the director.

Conclusions and future

The president of the Regulatory Council has highlighted that "exceeding the certification figures in kilos and units of 2019, before the start of the pandemic, 2022 has been the best year of the entire historical series for Torta del Casar, which forces us to continue working hard for the future." For Pacheco, the objective of the Council will be to "attract more young people to the farms, which requires incorporating new technologies that allow them to improve their profitability and have more leisure time and, in this way, make milk production an attractive activity." . And, of course, incorporating new cheese factories with the current level of quality, because it is very important for the future of the D.O.P to have a strong and well-sized processing sector”.

Regulatory Council of the Protected Designation of Origin (D.O.P.) Torta del Casar

D.O.P. Torta del Casar are made only in cheese factories registered with the Regulating Council, which works every day to guarantee its origin and quality, controlling the purity of the production process for the full safety and confidence of consumers.

The Protected Designation of Origin protects this cheese of ancient tradition and unique and differentiating qualities. Therefore, when you want to enjoy an authentic D.O.P. Torta del Casar, you have to look for its exclusive control label in which the logo of the Regulatory Council is attached to that of the European Union, the only guarantee that the choice made and international recognition.

Europa Press Communication: 91 359 26 00

Icíar Díaz iciardiaz@europapress.es

Susana Sedano susanasedano@europapress.es

Virginia Garcia virginiagarcia@europapress.es

D.O.P. Regulatory Council Torta del Casar: 927 290 713

Javier Muñoz direccion@tortadelcasar.eu www.tortadelcasar.eu

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