Feb 19, 20212 min read

Export Sales Soar To 5 billion Euros For The Italian Food Districts

In the third quarter of 2020, Italian agri-food districts achieved more than 5 billion euros in export sales, up +2.3% in 2019. According to a report by Intesa Sanpaolo, this is “a record figure for Italian agri-food district exports, which had never exceeded 5 billion in the summer quarter.”

The greatest contribution to growth came from the “Pasta and Sweets” supply chain, whose success in international markets shows no sign of stopping. Sales grew by +4.1% in the third quarter, which, added to the strong progress of the previous months, brings the balance of the first nine months of 2020 close to ten percentage points (+9.9% trend).

FOOD DISTRICTS AND SUCCESSFUL SUPPLY CHAINS

Notable progress was made also by “Parma Food” district (up 9% in the third quarter, +26.9% in the January-September period), “Coffee, confectionery and chocolate from Turin” (up 14.3% in the 3rd quarter, up 16.4% in the first nine months of 2020), and “Food from Naples” (up 15.8% and 24.2% respectively).

The second-largest sector in terms of growth is that of “Canned Foods”. Sales grew by +5.6% on an annualized basis in the quarter (+9.4% in the first nine months of the year), driven by the “Nocera canning district”, which contributes over 50% with double-digit growth (+15.3% in the 3rd quarter and +11.1% in the first nine months).

THE IMPORTANCE OF PASTA

The turnover of Italian pasta in large-scale distribution reached 720 million euros last year. The brands with the strongest growth in 2020 were Rummo and La Molisana, both able to achieve a +31% increase in sales. These were followed by Voiello (+19%), Garofalo (+12%), Granoro (+9.5%), De Cecco (+6.8%) and Divella (+6%). The leader remains Barilla, which gained +2.8% for a total value of 175 million sales and a market share of 24.5%.