Agri-food products are increasingly in demand abroad, last year we exported them all over the world for a worth 52 billion. Slightly less than the turnover of ENI, the large Italian oil multinational.
A historic record, the highest ever, with a increase of 9% compared to the previous year. This is what emerges from the analysis by Coldiretti on the new definitive Istat relative to foreign trade in the January-December period of last year which show an important positive trend for the country's recovery.
At the top of the ranking of national agri-food exports is wine which in 2021 breaks through the wall of the 7 billion euros in value with a real boom for Italian sparkling wines which record an explosion of requests from abroad with an increase of as much as 23% in value.
For the Made in Italy of Italian food, this is a success achieved by the search for gratification at the table despite the difficulties of commercial exchanges and the catering lockdowns that have severely affected all continents. The Covid health emergency - specifies Coldiretti - has also caused a healthy breakthrough in consumers globally who have favored the choice in the cart of allied well-being products such as those of Mediterranean diet.
Italian agriculture is the greenest in Europe and has the highest number of PDO/PGI/STG
At the basis of the success of Made in Italy there is in fact an agriculture that has become the greenest in Europe with the EU leadership in organic farming with 80 operators, the largest number of recognized PDO/PGI/TSG specialties (316), 526 PDO/PGI wines and 5.333 traditional food products. The Belpaese is the first EU producer of rice, durum wheat and wine and of many vegetables and greens typical of the Mediterranean diet such as tomatoes, aubergines, artichokes, fresh chicory, endives, celery and fennel. And also as regards fruit, it excels in many important productions: from fresh apples and pears, from cherries to table grapes, from kiwis to hazelnuts and chestnuts.
Among the main customers of the Italian flag at the table are the United States which ranks second with an increase of 15% but the trend is also positive in Germany which ranks first among the importing countries of Italian food with an increase 9%, and in France (+8%) which is stable in third place while in fourth place is Great Britain where, however, sales are stagnant due to the difficulties related to Brexit, between customs procedures and the increase in costs of transport due to delays and increased controls. Among the other markets we note the growth of 16% despite international tensions in the Russian market and 27% in the Chinese market
"To support the growth trend of Made in Italy food and wine, it is now necessary to act on Italy's structural delays and unblock all the infrastructures that would improve connections between the south and north of the country, but also with the rest of the world by sea and rail in high speed, with a network of junctions made up of airports, trains and cargo” underlines the president of Coldiretti Ettore Prandini in underlining the importance of seizing the opportunity of the Pnrr to modernize national logistics. A necessity in the face of energy price increases that also affect petrol and diesel for transport, reducing the competitiveness of Made in Italy companies on foreign markets. Suffice it to recall that Italy has an average cost per kilometer for heavy transport goods of 1,12 euro/kilometre, higher than countries such as France and Germany, but even double if we consider the realities of Europe East.
