"The Fort Knox of cheese" in danger: The heatwave threatening Parmesan in Italy
The heatwave on the Old Continent is forcing Italy's unique "cheese banks" to significantly increase their energy consumption to protect hundreds of thousands of Parmigiano Reggiano wheels that serve as collateral for loans in an industry with a turnover of billions of euros per year.
The heatwave hitting Europe is forcing Italy's unique "cheese banks" to significantly increase their energy consumption to protect hundreds of thousands of Parmigiano Reggiano wheels that serve as collateral for loans. The phenomenon increases operating costs and raises the credit risks associated with the Italian cheese economy, which is estimated at $4.7 billion.
The bank Credito Emiliano, which operates two main facilities where cheese worth about $350 million is registered, has upgraded its cooling and heating systems, reinforced insulation, and expanded the use of renewable energy to maintain stable temperatures in the storage warehouses. Despite the upgrades, the extreme heat increases the daily electricity consumption of the facilities by about 30%, hurting the bank's profitability while it is required to maintain precise humidity and temperature levels.
The unique practice, which has been in operation since 1953, allows cheese producers to receive an advance from the bank of 60% to 80% of the value of the Parmigiano wheel already at the young stage, while the cheese ages in the bank's warehouses in Reggio Emilia and Modena for between 12 and 36 months. In total, about 500,000 wheels are held in the "cheese banks" out of a national annual output of about 4 million wheels, with one vault alone storing wheels worth over 300 million euros.
"This is the Fort Knox of cheese," a bank spokesperson described the facility, emphasizing that the high temperatures outside require significant energy to maintain the environment required for the cheese.
The heatwave is also affecting the supply chain at an earlier stage: cows reduce activity and eating in high temperatures, which reduces milk production by up to 10%, and harms both the quantity and quality of the milk required for cheese production. This vulnerability has become part of the lenders' credit risk calculations, with the bank noting that it is a material issue for farmers, producers, and lenders alike.
The climate challenge is not limited to the cheese industry alone and is also reflected in Italy's other major food and beverage sectors. In Lombardy, the grape harvest for 2026 began as early as July 30, the earliest ever, while in Sicily, producers spread the harvest over almost 100 days to cope with the heatwaves. The company Coldiretti estimated an additional cost of 250 euros per hectare for energy, fertilizers, and materials, with export values falling by 7% in the first four months of 2026. Olive oil production has also been affected, with national output this year hovering around 270 to 300 thousand tons, compared to a historical average of more than 350 thousand tons. At the same time, Italy has postponed the date for shutting down its coal plants until 2038 due to cost pressures.
