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Home > USA > Business events
THE ITALIAN FOOD INDUSTRY AT
Rome (Ign) - It is one of the keystones of the Italian economic system, and continues to give an important contribution to Italian exports. Italian food and wines are in fact known all over the world, and Foodex 2007 (http://www2.jma.or.jp/ foodex/en/index.html), the most important Japanese trade fair in the sector, will represent an opportunity to take advantage of a showcase also in these distant lands. The event scheduled to open in Chiba city, at the Makuhari Messe Congress Centre between 13 and 16 March, is in fact one of the most important international fairs in the sector. We need merely note that at least 2400 exhibitors are expected, from 70 different countries or regions of the world, in an exhibition space of 27,000 square metres, fitted out to host almost 100,000 visitors. This is a major show, but also a meeting point of increasing importance for professionals in the sector, who have the possibility not only to familiarise themselves with the interesting Japanese market, but also to set up trade relations in almost all the markets of the Far East. This is why the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade (ICE) has organised a collective delegation that will take 200 Italian businesses involved in the food industry to measure themselves against foreign competitors, but also to start partnerships and cooperation initiatives aimed at launching their products on promising new markets.
The comparison will bring important benefits to the Italian food industry, which today represents overall turnover of over €100bn per year and, together with fashion, is the best-known ambassador of Italian industry in the world. According to the figures of the farmers' association, Confagricoltura (www.confagricoltura.it), in 2005 the sector drove the growth of foreign trade, with an overall value of exports of around €20bn, up 3.4% on the previous year. Growth was seen in industrial products, which represent the largest share of the turnover (€15.1bn, +2.7%), but farming also performed excellently: in 2005 the figure of €4bn in exports was exceeded, with a rise of no less than +6.1%. Moreover, according to the latest data available, exports in the entire sector in the period January-November 2006 grew further by 6.1% on the same period the previous year. These are figures that describe an excellent level of competitiveness and explain why in the sector, Italy is the sixth most important country in Europe and the eighth in the world in terms of sales on foreign markets.
The merit for this success is undoubtedly due to the regional micro-systems of food production. Based on craft skills, and the result of years of experience, they offer products which are unique in terms of quality. According to Inea, the national institute for the countryside economy (www.inea.it), the driving force for food exports are Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont and Veneto (which together account for 58.4% of total exports), followed by Campania and the other regions of southern Italy. This is the scenario that shows the clear division of Italy, also in terms of product type: in the regions of the North industrial products lead the way, while in the South, it is above all primary products that are exported. As far as regards export markets, pole position is held by the countries of the European Union, which absorb 70% of exports, accounting for almost €13.8bn. Also worthy of note is the Russian market, which in 2005 showed increases of 43% for food and 61% for drinks. And it is precisely the sector of drinks that is showing important results on all the major markets, surpassing goals that until a few years ago were difficult to imagine, such as €1bn of wine exports to the USA.
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