“China is not yet one of the main markets for the Italian food industry, but it is certainly one of the most important markets worldwide. Together with India, in fact, it contributes more than 45% to global growth. But in light of recent developments, we fear that the Coronavirus issue will lead to a sharp brake on international trade, the first driver of development, hitting a growing economy like China’s.” That is what Ivano Vacondio, president of Italy F&B industries association Federalimentare, said about the possible economic and commercial consequences of the Coronavirus.
ITALIAN FOOD EXPORTS TO CHINA
“Italy comes in 15th place among China’s commercial partners. As far as the Italian food industry is concerned, China comes in 18th place” – said Vacondio.
In 2018 Italian agri-food exports to China reached an amount of 422 million euros, down 2.6% on 2017. Italian 2018 agri-food imports from China, on the other hand, reached 584 million for a negative commercial balance of 162 million.
Food and beverage accounted for 3.2% of total Italian exports to China (equal to 13.1 billion). In 2019, their incidence rose to 3.3% as food exports returned to the levels of 2017, (up +3.5%, for a value of 435 million).
CORONAVIRUS AND GROWTH PROSPECTS
However, Italy comes in first place as a food supplier to the Chinese market for pasta, second for olive oil, fourth for wine and fifth for chocolate.
“The Italian food industry in China is not very large in numbers, but there are great prospects for growth. Moreover, if the Chinese economy will suffer a slowdown due to the Coronavirus issue, as is very likely and already happening for some sectors, the global economy, including Italy’s, will lose out affected by a domino effect” – the president of Federalimentare said.