Agri-food exports up by more than 7% in the first half of the year

Italian agricultural and food exports closed the first six months of the year at plus 7.1%. With Euro 34 billion of foreign sales realised by Italian wines and foods, the prospect of reaching Euro 70 billion by the end of 2024 is becoming more and more concrete, according to the latest Ismea report on foreign trade, where the sector is showing significant growth, in contrast with the drop in national exports of goods and services.

A result to which both the food industry contributed, with an increase in value flows of 7.7%, and the agricultural component (+3.4%). In the same period, imports grew at a slower pace (+1.4% compared to the first half of 2023), due to the downturn in commodity prices, resulting in a marked improvement in the Italian trade balance, which turned positive again and amounted to EUR 433 million.

As far as the outlet markets are concerned, the double-digit growth in the United States (+17%) and Japan stands out, where the increase in value is almost 50%; the performance in Romania (+11%) and Australia (+18%) is also excellent. Looking at the top 10 of the main markets, Germany, France and the United States are confirmed in the top three places, followed by the United Kingdom, Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Poland and Austria.

At the product level, exports of bottled wines are growing again (+2%), 7.6% of the total and a value of 2.6 billion. Sparkling wines were also positive with almost 1.1 billion euro (+7%). Among the growth sectors, cereal derivatives stand out, +8% in value, led by bakery and confectionery products, more than by pasta.

Turnover also increased for matured cheeses (+7.5%), fresh cheeses (+6%) and olive oil (+64%). Finally, imports, which consisted mainly of unprocessed raw materials and semi-finished products, showed a decrease for the main cereals, soya, soya flour and palm oil; on the contrary, they increased for unroasted coffee (+12% in value) and olive oil (+33%).