According to the Monitor of Agri-Food Districts published by Studies and Research Department of Intesa Sanpaolo, in the second quarter of the year, the COVID-19 pandemic and the various lockdowns slowed down the export growth of the Italian agri-food districts, which achieved an almost unchanged trend result (+0,2%) in the April-June period compared to the same period of 2019.
Resta in any case, the balance sheet for the first half of 2020 is positive for the districts (+4,8%) and for the Italian agro-food sector as a whole (+2,6%), despite the negative trend of Italian exports in the period (-15,3%), and in a countertrend also with respect to the non-agri-food manufacturing districts (-37,4% in the second quarter) which in the first six months of 2020 produce almost a quarter less than the exports achieved in the same period last year (-24%).
Not all supply chains were able to contribute positively to the growth of exports of the agri-food districts in the semester. The first important exception comes from the most important supply chain in terms of exported values, that of wines, which suffered a sudden slowdown in the second quarter (-13,3% trend) penalized by the closure of accommodation and restaurant businesses in many client countries.
Double-digit growth instead for the pasta and sweets supply chain (+11,8% in the spring quarter) which, added to the strong acceleration already recorded in the January-March period, leads to a half-year balance that is close to +20% on a trend basis. Second for contribution to growth in the semester, the agricultural districts supply chain (+5% yoy); the canning sector is on the same wavelength (+8,1% compared to the same period of the previous year).
Positive results in the half year also for the meat and salami chains (+1,4%), oil (+8,8%) and rice (+16,4%), while the dairy chain closed with a slight decline (-1,9%). In the end, heavy contraction for the fish supply chain district, which was mainly affected by the blockage of orders from the Ho.re.ca channel (-21,8%).
As regards the export destination countries of the agri-food districts, in the first six months of 2020 there was a sales growth towards all main commercial partners, primarily Germany (+7,8%), United States (+3,2%), France (+10,7%). Exports to the United Kingdom also grew (+3,7%).
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