Exports of fresh and processed fruits and vegetables from Italy have exceeded 10 billion euros for the first time ever thanks to +8 percent sales growth in international markets. This is according to an analysis by the Italian farmers’ association, Coldiretti, based on Istat data for the first ten months of 2022. The report was released at the opening of Fruit Logistica in Berlin, the leading international trade show for the sector.
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Germany is the first outlet market for Italian fruit and vegetables with about a quarter of total exports, thanks also to a +7% increase in sales during the period under consideration. The second largest market is France, where sales, however, fell by -2%, while in third place is the UK with a +15% increase. In fourth place is Austria, where sales grew +8%, just ahead of the United States which is the first non-EU market with a record increase of +20%.
Fresh vegetables are worth more than 1.8 billion euros of the total Italian F&B exports (60 bn in 2022), rising to 5.3 billion if processed products are also considered. In 2022, exports of Italian canned tomatoes grew by +27 percent, proving the success of Mediterranean Diet products abroad. Fresh fruit exports, on the other hand, are worth 3.8 billion, to which 1.2 billion in juices, jams, and preserves must be added.
The fruit and vegetable sector, between fresh and processed, guarantees Italy a turnover of 15 billion euros a year accounting for 25 percent of total agri-food production. With more than one million hectares under cultivation, Italy boasts as many as 119 PDO and PGI fruit and vegetable products and excels in Europe with many important productions: apples, pears, cherries, table grapes, kiwis, hazelnuts, chestnuts in addition to many vegetables such as tomatoes, eggplants, artichokes, fresh chicory, endives, celery, and fennel.