Italy renews its important presence at the SIAL Paris trade show, starting today (until October, 25), with 208 exhibitors ready to seize new growth opportunities in a key European market worth over 4 billion euros of exports. The Italian Trade Agency (also known as ICE), occupies a space of 2,800 square meters (Agenzia Hall 1, information booths E020 and G168) at the most important trade show for the food industry in Europe along with Anuga, in Cologne, Germany.
THE NUMBERS OF SIAL PARIS
A total of over 7,000 exhibitors from 109 countries and 155,000 visitors, 70% of which international, are joining SIAL Paris. Cooking shows (stand E168) hosted by two starred chefs, Antonella Ricci and Alessandro Breda, in collaboration with the international school of Italian cuisine (Alma), will be the highlight of intense activities designed to support small and medium Italian manufacturers of certified quality products. For the entire duration of the show, Italian companies will receive technical support from ICE and have access to two information desks to favor business meetings with international buyers.
FRANCE BUYING MORE FROM ITALY
Italy is the fifth-largest food exporter to France, whose mass retail channel is a key destination for Italian products. France imported around 4 billion euros of food products from Italy last year, while Italy imported French food products for around 5.3 billion euros, according to data analyzed by the ITA agency. However, France imported more food from Italy (up 8.4% from 2016) than Italy from its neighbor (up 5.6%). The positive trend for Italy was confirmed in the first half of 2018, when Italy bought 2.71 billion euros of food from France (up 4.3% year on year).
PASTA, CHEESE, WINE TOP FRENCH SHOPPING LIST
France is a global top buyer of fruit, meat, seafood and shellfish globally, but the most imported Italian products in the country are pasta, cheese, wine, mineral water, preserves and processed tomatoes, according to data by ICE. However, the top Italian performers in the French market are sweet and bakery (up 5.8%), followed by dairy (up 12.99%), pasta (up 5.8%), deli meats (up 8.58%), wine and spumante (up 10.2%), eggs (9.92%), coffee (6.37%) and rice (1.58%).