Italian food & beverage exports reached a value of 17,329.9 million euros in the first half of this year. This corresponds to a growth of +2.6% compared to the first half of 2019.
Exports in June increased by +0.7% compared to 2019. Moreover, in July production fell by -0.4%: it can be said that “the sector is somehow touching the bottom of the crisis” – says Federalimentare in an official statement. The coming months should not bring new, marked changement in these trends.
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ITALIAN FOOD EXPORTS DRIVING ITALIAN ECONOMY, EXPLAINED
Exports of the agri-food sector still maintain a clear advantage compared to the -15.6% fall recorded by Italy’s total exports.
Italian food exports growth by category in the first half of 2020
| PRODUCT | EXPORTS 2019 (mio €) | EXPORTS 2020 (mio €) | VAR. % |
| Pasta | 1,270.11 | 1,584.20 | 24.7% |
| Rice | 306.47 | 358.12 | 16.9% |
| Processed Vegetables | 1,244.28 | 1,366.70 | 9.8% |
| Fish | 177.22 | 192.71 | 8.7% |
| Coffee | 750.66 | 801.58 | 6.8% |
| Oil and fats | 973.41 | 1,038.08 | 6.6% |
The expansive step of the food industry is the result of mainly positive trends in many different sectors. Among these, it is worth pointing out the double-digit growth of pasta (+24.7%) and rice (+16.9%), and the significant growth of processed vegetables (+9.8%), animal feed (+9.3%), fish products (+8.7%), coffee (+6.8%), and oils and fats (+6.6%). Mineral waters (-13.9%) and spirits and liqueurs (-12.2%) show the most marked decreases. Wine, the Italian exports leader, confirms its downward trend (-3.5%).
OUTPUT MARKETS
The slight economic growth in the first half of 2020 appears to be linked to the EU area. In fact, Italy’s food exports to the EU countries show a slightly more marked growth (+2.8%) compared to total food exports (+2.6%). However, the most striking performances concern Morocco (+38.9%), Egypt (+36.1%), and Ukraine (+34%).
Among the main markets we can find Germany (+6.1%) and France (+4.7%), where exports growth is slightly stronger compared to 2019, in addition to the USA where Italian food and beverage sales grow by +4.5%. Worthy of note is the performance in Canada (+14.1%) among the general flat trend in almost all major outlets.
Top Destinations: Italian food exports by country in the first half of 2020
| COUNTRY | EXPORTS IN VALUE (mio €) | % VAR. 2020/2019 |
| Germany | 2,736.8 | 6.1% |
| USA | 2,267 | 4.5% |
| France | 2,077.6 | 4.7% |
| UK | 1,501.2 | 3.9% |
| Switzerland | 636 | 2.8% |
| Netherlands | 580.8 | 0.8% |
| Spain | 574.3 | -0.9% |
| Belgium | 514.7 | 4.8% |
| Austria | 442 | 0.8% |
| Canada | 424.9 | 14.1% |
FOOD IMPORTS
Finally, food imports confirm a decrease in the first half of the year, equal to -3.5%. This leads to a positive trade balance (+6,852.2 million), growing by +13.5% compared to the first half of 2019.