(Finance) – Italy is the sixth world exporter of food and drink products (42.3 billion euros in 2021, reaching 50 if we also include agricultural products) after the USA, Germany, the Netherlands, France and Brazil. In terms of trends, however, it is the European country that performs best both in the medium term (CAGR 2016-2021 of + 6.2% against + 3.8% in France and + 2.9% in Germany) and in 2022. In the first 7 months of 2022, Italian exports reached a new record: 28.5 billion euros, + 21% compared to 2021 against the + 15% and + 16% achieved in the same period by the German and French cousins. Data illustrated by Emanuele Di Faustino, Head of Industry, Retail and Services of Nomisma, during the meeting “Export as a growth driver for Food & Beverage – Scenarios, strategies and development prospects for Made in Italy”, promoted by Verallia Italia in Milan.
Thanks to the quality of its productionsItaly is the world leader in the export of pasta and tomato preserves (where it holds a market share of 29% and 44% respectively), while it is second in wine exports (24% share for sparkling wines and 21% for still wines; here the leadership is in fact France) and extra- virgin olive oil (20%). According to Di Faustino, despite the current and uncertain global macro-economic scenario, the opportunities for further expansion of Italian exports “food and beverage” in the next few years they are plausible in both the more mature and emerging markets.
“In the case of markets where the presence of Italian F&B is already consolidated, the greatest growth opportunities can be seen for the USA, the world’s leading importer of food and beverage products and second destination for Italian exports” – declares Emanuele Di Faustino, Industry Manager , Retail and Nomisma Services. “This is a market characterized by important dimensions, a high spending capacity and a demand for Italian products still concentrated in a few federal states (the first 5 intercept 55% of Italian food imports and 70% of wine imports), all factors that imply enormous growth potential for our exports. Not to forget the excellent appeal enjoyed by Made in Italy food among Americans: for 28% Italy is the foreign country with higher quality food & beverage products “ concludes Di Faustino.
Among the noteworthy emerging countries are reported in Middle East Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates; in Eastern Europe Poland and Romania; while for China the economy is expected to recover as early as 2023. However, South Korea is the emerging market with the greatest potential for Made in Italy F&B exports, thanks to a thriving economy and double-digit annual growth rates in Italian food exports “.
The business world for its part, after having recorded excellent performances in 2021, is now facing a long phase of difficulty as confirmation Nicola Calzolaro, General Manager of Federalimentare: “Our sector continues to be very exposed on the energy front. To this are added the very strong tensions on the prices of raw materials with a trend, even here out of control. That said, exports remain fundamental for the Italian food system, especially if we consider that domestic consumption has been flat for ten years now.ni “.
“In a geopolitical and macro-economic situation of absolute uncertainty, the Italian Food & Beverage industry is wondering about future prospects. As a partner of most of the major players in this industry, we have decided to facilitate and share these reflections with a high-profile parterre to provide our customers with the best tools to enhance their presence in international markets “, underlines Marco Ravasi, Verallia Italia CEO and landlord.
“From the industrial point of view – analyzes Ravasi – the glass sector albeit subjected to very strong pressures due to the rise in the price of raw materials, transport and energy, it is committed to guaranteeing bottles and jars to producers of Italian agri-food excellence and for this reason we have confirmed investments in the expansion of production capacity and in the design of new furnaces “.
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