Is the right time for a take-off of food exports to China? In March, according to Istat data handled by Coldiretti, there has been a 51% growth in export compared to the same period in 2014. A real cause to party that does not leave our producers uninterested and which comes in a month has not seen us particularly active in exportation to the Dragon. In fact, it is China that greatly increased shipments to Italy in March, especially metal products, electrical equipment and machinery, with an increase of more than 50 percent. Our food therefore seems to be enjoying a favorable moment in and around Beijing, with growth even higher than the United States (+ 26% in March) that are a consolidated outlet for our exports and benefit now from a particularly strong dollar.
The signs that China had began to take serious interest in our food & beverage products had actually been seen for some time. Federalimentare had already spoken of the “return of China,” noting that in 2014 export grew by almost 10% and a region like Tuscany recorded an increase in exportation to China of 22%, driven by the beverage industry, led by the wine sector. Contacts in the field of processed meat have intensified, thanks to the efforts of Assica, who is working on some timid openings to the category which has, to date, been extremely protected. Furthermore, milk, which is experiencing a contraction in volumes in Italy, could find a fundamental outlet in China, interested in the high food safety that Italy guarantees for this product, as well as all its derivatives for which, however, there are still many sensory barriers to overcome.
On the other hand, Italy continues to import less and less tomato paste, for many years one of the symbols of Chinese export to Italy: in 2014 arrivals fell by 54% to 14 thousand tons. Compared to 31 thousand in 2013, according to the Anicav calculations.