The most important food event in the world: the SIAL, held in Paris twice a year and considered to be the most important trade fair for the food industry in Europe, will open in Paris between the 19^th and 23^rd October . The event is regarded as the most important European event in 2008 for the whole food and beverage industry. This universality is confirmed by the number of countries represented by the more than 140,000 visitors to the 2006 edition: visitors from more than 191 countries attended the stands of 5,302 exhibitors present in Paris, who themselves represented 99 different nations. More exhibition space has been provided for this year’s edition at the end of October, with the opening of a new 15,000 square metre pavilion.

But as it is about to take part in the Paris fair thatnks to the ICE organisation, the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade, just how “healthy” is the state of the Italian food industry? The most recent industry snapshot was taken last July by the ISMEA report (Institute for Agro-Food Market Services, www.ismea.it ). The document, which relates to 2007, shows how last year was particularly favourable for food exports, which recorded a rise of 6.4% to 23.71 billion Euros. This growth was mainly due to the more typical and added value goods associated with the term “Made in Italy”. The most interesting performance was achieved by the agricultural sector, which recorded a 10% rise, considerably more than the 6.7% rise of 2006. Food industry exports, however, fell from 8.4% to 5.5%, perhaps due to the fact that export volume, which is more than four times the amount of agricultural exports (18.86 billion against 4.85 billion), has suffered more from the unfavourable exchange rate levels.

Europe remains the most important outlet market for Italian food exports, accounting for 71.3% of total exportation: Germany is still our primary market (with a share of 20.1%), with France coming second (at 11.5%). The American market – confirming the tensions due to the Euro/Dollar exchange rate – showed a decrease of 1.5%, while being the only example of a fall among the first twenty destination countries for Italian produce. One further interesting fact emerges from the American USDA statistics: according to the USA Agriculture Department, which uses the Dollar as default currency, in 2007 Italy held an important position on the global market, with a 5.2% share of total exports in 2007. This is higher than the market share held by such large export orientated economies as Canada, Australia and Argentina, which are all considerably larger and with traditionally strong food industries. Italy’s position is also very positive in comparison to that of other important European competitors, such as Great Britain and Spain.

With regard to explicitly “Made in Italy” exports, which comprise a selection of both fresh and processed products chosen to represent the excellence of national food production and which are recognised as typical products, variation in value was higher than average (6.4%) at +7.6%, with a value of 14.70 billion Euros. In 2007 Made in Italy products were responsible for nearly two thirds (62.3%) of agro-food exports, and the overall value of food and beverage exports was boosted by wine (representing 23% of total exports), which recorded an increase of 9%, double the average annual variation over the last five years (4.5%). However, the sector that recorded the strongest rise, including in real value, was that of bakery products, with a rise of 28% over 2006. ISMEA explains this result as a combination of a significant increase in unit prices (+20%) and a strong growth in export volume (+5.9%).

This parallel rise in quantity and unit price is a tendancy which has characterised almost all Made in Italy food sectors in 2007: a further proof of Italy’s sustained competitive position on the international market, due not to price-lowering strategies, but to the high added value and quality levels of our produce.