Italian food is worth 41 billion euros in exports. Top provinces are Cuneo, Verona and Milan

Few other countries can boast a food and wine heritage as vast as Italy’s. It is the cultural aspect of a country that becomes a slice of the national economy, which is quantified by an extraordinary figure. Italian food is worth 41 billion euros in exports, and a growth of +1.4%. These numbers have been collected by the Milan Chamber of Commerce of Monza Brianza Lodi and the farmers association, Coldiretti Lombardia, together with Promos Italia, based on Istat data of 2017-18, which have also created a map of the routes of Italian food, entitled, “Italian agribusiness in the world”. The map was presented at Milan Food City, the week dedicated to food and healthy nutrition.
What is the route of Italian food in the world? Germany, France, the United States and the United Kingdom are the major export markets. Germany is first (+1.6%) followed by France (+4.3%), the United States (+4%) and the United Kingdom (+1.6%). Among the top 20 for growth there was also Poland (+6.3%), Sweden and Australia (+ 3.8%). Japan and Russia reported smaller increases, while China has slowed down. Germany and France are the number one buyers for almost all products; however, the United States excels in wines (+4%), mineral waters (+7.4%) and oils, Spain for fresh fish, the Philippines (+ 36.4%) and Greece (+7.1%) for animal feed, the United Kingdom for live animals and their by-products (+33.1%). The United Kingdom ranks second for processed and preserved fruit and vegetables as well as ice cream, while Austria is in third place for cereals and rice. Poland (+ 23.3%) and Australia (+18.5%) recorded high growth in wines, an d so did France (+10.1%), Indonesia for animal feed (+100.7%), China for chocolate, coffee and spices (+21.7%), Canada for cheese (+27.2%), Russia for pasta (+43.5%), Spain for fruit (+22.5%) and grains (+13.6%), Croatia for oils (+35.2%), Slovenia and Vietnam for meat (+17% approximately), Hungary for processed and preserved fish (+44.1%) and Portugal for aquaculture products (+209%).
The most exported Made in Italy products are chocolate, tea, coffee, spices and ready to eat meals totaling 7 billion euros (+3.6%), followed by wines at 6.2 billion (+ 3.3%), then bread, pasta and starchy foods follow at 3.9 billion euros (+ 2.5%). Fruit (+2.4%), dairy products (+3.2%), meat and products not processed from permanent crops (including grapes, citrus fruits) also exceed 3 billion euros. The largest increases were recorded for bread and pastry products at 1.2 billion (+ 72%), products for animals (+10.5%) and ice creams (+ 7.4%).
At the level of provinces, Cuneo and Verona are at the top for exports with 3 billion euros. Milan is in third pace at 1.6 billion, +4.4%, ahead of Parma and Bolzano.