Ismea: agribusiness in Italy is worth 15% of GDP

From the field to the table, Italian agri-food is worth 15% of GDP. The figure emerges from the latest report that Ismea presented yesterday in Rome, and recounts a sector that boasts more than one primacy in Europe and the world: first EU country for agricultural added value, with 44.4 billion euros; third for that of the food industry, behind Germany and France, with 38 billion euros; world leader for PDO and PGI products, with about 900 registrations.

From Ismea's telephoto lens, a photograph emerges of a healthy sector, devoid of chiaroscuros. One figure stands out in particular, and that is that of agricultural income, which in 2024 will grow by 9.2%, one of the highest in Europe, and which will be added to the 11.7% already recorded in 2023. Even agricultural employment is on the rise, with around one million people employed in 2024, 0.7% more than in 2023. And private investment in agriculture is also at its highest, at EUR 10.6 billion, while agricultural productivity is the highest in the EU average, with EUR 46,300 of added value per employee.

Exports do not seem to show any signs of letting up either. After the EUR 70 billion touched in 2024, the positive trend seems to continue in 2025, with exports up 5.7% in the first nine months. Needless to hide, however, that US-made tariffs are causing some concern. Ismea calculates that the Italian agri-food sector is burdened by an average additional US tariffs of 12.9%, but it is still difficult to fully assess the effects of this levy today: the situation is still evolving and is strongly influenced by operators' expectations. "Tariffs are never good for a country like Italy, which is a processor and exporter, as well as a producer," Ismea Director General Dario Marchi said yesterday, "but we must not look month by month. The only thing that is certain is the uncertainty they cause in the markets, because they can create situations of accumulation and then demobilisation of stocks and possibly even speculation'.

Satisfied with the performance of Italian agriculture is the Minister of Agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigida: 'The numbers speak for themselves,' he said yesterday, commenting on the Report's data, 'I have the good fortune to be a minister in a government that is sensitive in its entirety to the primary sector, to that of our transformations and our ability to impose ourselves on international markets. In three years, Ismea reminded us, the government has put 15 billion euro into agriculture between strengthening supply chains, supporting innovation and developing youth employment. The implementation of the agricultural NRP has increased the resources managed by Masaf from 3.6 to 8.9 billion euro: among the most significant interventions is the Supply Chain Contracts Fund, whose financial endowment has been increased by a further 2 billion for an overall total of 4 billion euro.

'Despite a time of great international turmoil,' concluded Ismea president Livio Proietti, 'these are exceptional results with consolidated and increasing records. The report describes a solid supply chain, capable of reacting to external turbulence and growing on international markets despite geopolitical instability and new protectionist pushes'.