Cattozzi: "Italian food and beverages are increasingly appreciated abroad, with growing interest in strengthening the presence of companies in the sector in foreign markets."
Cattozzi: "Italian food and beverages are increasingly appreciated abroad, with growing interest in strengthening the presence of companies in the sector in foreign markets."
"The great appreciation for Italian food and beverages abroad continues to grow, making it increasingly interesting for companies to strengthen their presence in foreign markets," said Massimiliano Cattozzi, Head of Agribusiness at Intesa Sanpaolo. "To support this growth and competitiveness, we have allocated 20 billion euros to the sector thanks to an agreement signed with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty, and Forestry, along with Cassa Depositi e Prestiti. Access to this initiative is made possible through financing lines like Crescita Agri, part of the initiative 'Your Future is Our Business,' dedicated to investments in businesses that are adaptable to the production cycle of their supply chain for energy efficiency solutions and international growth."
This approach was also highlighted at the conference organized at Vinitaly last April by the Agribusiness Division of Intesa Sanpaolo on the theme "Internationalization Supply Chains. Italian companies between old and new markets."
Exports
With the release of the Agro-Food Districts Monitor, published in recent days and curated by Intesa Sanpaolo's Research Department, the positive balance of exports in 2023 for Italian agro-food districts is confirmed, closing with nearly 27 billion euros in sales to foreign markets and an increase of 4.5%, corresponding to almost 1.2 billion more than the previous year. This result is in line with the overall Italian agro-food export, which recorded a +5.8% (with the districts representing 43% of it).
Key Markets
Germany remains the top trading partner for agro-food district products: the slowdown of the German economy in 2023 did not reduce sales to this market, reaching +6.7% in 2023. Conversely, flows to the United States closed slightly negatively (-1.4%), while they grew in France (+7.5%) and the United Kingdom (+6.6%). Emerging economies, which account for 20% of total agro-food district exports, recorded an overall increase of 2.9%.
Wine
The only sector showing a slight negative sign in the annual evolution is wine, which partially recovered in the last quarter of 2023 and overall saw a slight decline in value (-0.7% compared to 2022), mainly due to a decrease in the North American markets (United States -7.4% and Canada -9%). Among the districts, the performance of Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene (+4.3%) stands out positively, along with Wines and Spirits from Friuli (+9.2%), Bolzano (+6.6%), and Trento (+2.3%). However, three major districts, territories of important Italian red wines, struggled: Wines of Langhe, Roero, and Monferrato (-4.4%), Wines of the Florentine and Sienese Hills (-4.5%), and Wines of Verona (-1.9%), all experiencing significant declines overseas. It's worth noting that in past years, U.S. buyers had made substantial stockpiles of Italian wine, favored by a strong dollar and favorable exchange rates.
LINK TO THE AGRO-FOOD DISTRICTS MONITOR: