For the Italian food products industry, developing exports is a priority. The transition from the health crisis to the economic crisis, according to Nomisma data, will worsen the economic problems of Italian consumers with repercussions on food purchases.
The most popular Italian food products abroad
| Product type | Exports in value, 1st half of 2020 (€ billions) | % Var. 1st half 2020/2019 |
| Bakery | 2.3 | +15.6% |
| Processed Fruit and Vegetables | 1.9 | +6% |
| Dairy | 1.8 | +0.8% |
An elaboration on Istat Coeweb data on the Italian food products sector shows that in the first six months of 2020 Italian F&B exports amounted to over 22 billion euros, up by +3.5% compared to the same period of 2019.
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The most popular Italian food products abroad are bakery products – 2.3 billion euros export sales in value and double-digit growth up +15.6% on 2019. In second position come processed and preserved fruit and vegetables (1.9 billion, growing by +6%), and dairy products (1.8 billion, +0.8%).
Italian food importer countries growth ranking (1st half of 2020)
| Japan | +16.9% |
| China | +13.7% |
| Oceania | +8% |
| Germany | +6.7% |
| Switzerland | +5.7% |
| USA | +4.2% |
| France | +4.2% |
As far as the major destination markets are concerned, Japan is the most growing market (+16.9% on the first half of 2019), followed by China (+13.7%), and Oceania (+8%). After these, we can find Germany (+6.7%), Switzerland (+5.7%), the United States and France (+4.2% both).
Italian food exports in the world (1st half of 2020)
| EU-27 (except UK) | €12.5 billion |
| Non-EU countries | €9.6 billion |
Exports are heading in a fairly balanced percentage towards European and non-European markets. This means that in recent years Italian companies have focused on the development of emerging markets. In the first half of 2020 exports to the EU-27 (except UK) reached almost 12.5 billion euros, sales to the rest of the world accounted for more than 9.6 billion.