Even in 2018, Italian food exports are still going strong. In the first two months of this year, ISTAT reported an 11.4% increase on the January-February period of 2017, with exports totalling 6.3 billion euro. France and the United States were among the most successful destination markets, respectively with +5.6 and +6% sales. According to data provided by Federalimentare, Italian food exports worldwide totalled 31.9 billion euro in 2017. This growth, which stands at 6.3% in 2016, goes up to 75% if compared to 2007, something that goes to show the consistency of Italian exports over time. The most interesting performances of 2017 are those of Russia (+28%), China (+19%), Spain (+16%), and Poland (+13%).
Italian wine
Italian wine boasts 543 certifications of origin (PDOs and PGIs), a figure that puts the country at the very top of Europe, followed by France, Greece, Spain and Portugal. In 2017, PDO and PGI wines accounted for two-thirds of total production, generating a production value of 6.8 billion euro. With exports totalling 1.9 billion euro in 2017 (+5.6% on 2016) and a 32% share of the total value of wine exports, wine cooperatives remain one of the cornerstones of Italian wine exports. The first 25 cooperatives alone (by turnover) account for one-fifth of all sales of Italian wine abroad.
Prosciutto di Modena
Prosciutto di Modena PDO, with a minimum aging period of 14 months, in 2017 recorded a total of 70,000 units produced for a retail value of around 13 million euro. Despite being a relatively small PDO (only nine producers), it has already made its debut on the international scene, in particular in Germany, in the UK and in France. In non-EU countries, the protection Consortium is targeting the US and Canadian markets, while beginning talks with Japan.
Parmigiano Reggiano
2017 was a record year for the production of Parmigiano Reggiano, one of the most exported Italian cheeses in the world: a 5.2% increase in volume with an extra 180,000 compared to 2016. The Consortium for the promotion and safeguard of Parmigiano Reggiano closed the year with a total production of 3,650,000 wheels, against the 3,460,000 of the previous year. The success of 2017 is being confirmed in 2018, as the growth in production volumes of the product indicates a potential end of year total of about 3.7 million units.