MONTEROSI, Italy, July 17 (Reuters) - Producers of

Pecorino Romano cheese, one of Italy's best known food exports,

are lobbying to be spared new U.S. tariffs that could raise

consumer prices and take a chunk out of their export market.

Gianni Maoddi, president of the Consorzio di Tutela del

Pecorino Romano, said the cheese has for more than 140 years

been popular in the United States, which accounts for around 40%

of annual exports.

The consortium is holding talks, including with the cabinet

of the European Commissioner for Agriculture and the office of

the United States Trade Representative, to explain Pecorino

Romano's unique qualities.

"We were recognised as having special characteristics, for

example, the fact that there is no production in America based

on sheep's milk like ours," Maoddi said.

"So it doesn't create an imbalance in local production," he

added.

The current U.S. price for Pecorino Romano ranges between

$35 and $40 per kilo.

Prices will rise sharply if the current 10% tariff on goods

sold into the United States from the European Union rises to 30%

from the start of August, as announced by President Donald Trump

last weekend.

Maoddi said the biggest risk is that industrial buyers that

make up the larger portion of U.S. sales will decide Pecorino is

no longer affordable.

"Being an ingredient, it's subject to cost analysis. There

could be lower consumption by these industries, or even a search

for alternative products. That's the more dangerous aspect of a

tariff of this scale," he said.

Giuseppe Capuani, owner of "I Buonatavola," a Pecorino

Romano production company, echoed the call for diplomacy and

level-headed negotiation.

"In my opinion, what Europe should do and what politics and

entrepreneurs do is always find a compromise," Capuani said.

($1 = 0.8630 euros)

(Additional reporting by Antonio Denti and Yesim Dikmen

Editing by Keith Weir and Barbara Lewis)