Taking place from 24 to 27 September, Worldfood Moscow 2019 is the event aimed at connecting thousands of businesses from around the world with Russia’s key food and drink buyers, including retail representatives from Russia’s leading supermarket chains, wholesalers, Ho. Re. Ca. sector members, and food manufacturers. Exhibitors are grouped into twelve main sectors, letting visitors easily find their products of interest and their manufacturers.
THE ROLE OF THE ITALIAN TRADE AGENCY IN MOSCOW
ICE, the Italian Trade Agency, is a firm fixture at WorldFood Moscow. It helps organizing cooking demonstrations from Italian chefs to let event attendees see how to best prepare meals made with delicious Italian ingredients, and sample Italian cuisine for themselves. At present, Italian companies are able to export coffee, pastas, confectionery items, wine, and beer, plus many more products, to Russia. The total value of the Russian food market in 2018 exceeded 200 billion dollars and Italian food & beverage companies can rule in the following sectors.
WINE
The Russian government is carrying out a campaign to promote local Russian wines and to increase awareness among the Russian population. The collapse of the ruble value has favoured the development of the domestic market, which still manages to satisfy a significant share of domestic demand. However, wine imports are quite significant: the top supplier in 2018 was Italy, with a market share of almost 30%.
OLIVE OIL
Given the Russian climate, imports of olive oil cover 100% of local consumption. In particular, imports of organic olive oil have increased. Italy is the second supplier: in 2018 the market share was 37.8% of the total, for an exports value of over 26 million euros.
PASTA
Exports have increased following the revaluation of pasta, which is no longer considered only as a cheap side dish but instead as a real first course. In 2018 Italy was the top supplier for an exports value of 37.4 million euros. Almost all the best Italian pasta brands are present on the Russian market, mostly aimed at middle class consumers.
COFFEE
From 2017 onward, roasted coffee has seen an increase in consumption surpassing soluble coffee. In 2018, Italy was the top supplier of the Russian Federation, for an exports value of 82.8 million euros.
CHOCOLATE
The chocolate market is expanding, especially when it comes to artisanal and high-quality products. In 2018, Italy was the second largest supplier of the Russian Federation for a value of over 53 million euros.
MINERAL WATERS
Thanks to the health trend that has been spreading throughout Russia in recent years, the consumption of healthy drinks and mineral water is rising significantly. In 2018, Italy was the third largest supplier of sugar free mineral waters, for an exports value of 9.6 million euros.
BAKERY AND SWEETS
In Russia there has been a decrease in bread consumption in recent years, together with an increase in more sought-after bakery products such as bread with dried fruit. In this context, in 2018 Italy was ranked 3rd among the main suppliers to Russia for an exports value of just over 32 million euros.
TOMATO PRESERVES
Italy ranks second among the main suppliers of the Russian Federation, for an exports value of 20.6 million euros.