Made in Italy – Coldiretti estimates confirm the primacy of products, symbol of Italian excellence
Italian agri-food exports reach new heights in 2024, driven by wine, pasta and olive oil. The US is driving growth with a 150% increase in ten years.
Italian food continues to be synonymous with excellence and quality in the world, setting a new record in 2024. According to an analysis conducted by Coldiretti on Istat data, agri-food exports reached almost 70 billion euros, an extraordinary result that is double the value recorded in 2014, when the sector was worth about 34 billion euros.
This extraordinary success consolidates the agri-food sector as a pillar of the national economy and lays the foundations for an ambitious goal: to reach 100 billion euros in annual exports by 2030.
The US at the forefront of the most receptive markets
Among the international markets, the US is confirmed at the top with an exceptional growth: exports of Italian products to the US market have increased by 150% in the last decade. Other European countries are also showing a positive trend: France has recorded an increase of 90%, Germany 71% and the UK 57%.
The protagonists of success: wine, pasta and olive oil
At the center of the boom are the symbols par excellence of the Italian gastronomic tradition. Wine is firmly in first place among the most exported products, followed by cheese, processed fruit and vegetables, pasta, olive oil, cold cuts and fresh fruits. These foods, ambassadors of taste Made in Italy, help to strengthen the image of Italy as a global reference point in the agri-food sector.
Work, quality and infrastructure challenges
Behind this primacy is a chain that involves more than 4 million workers distributed between 740 thousand farms and 70 thousand food industries. However, to maintain this growth is essential to address some critical issues, such as infrastructure delays that, according to the Centro Studi Divulga, penalize the sector with 9 billion euros of lost revenues every year.
Another crucial challenge concerns the protection of authentic Made in Italy, threatened by the phenomenon of “false Italian” that, according to Coldiretti and Filiera Italia, generates a parallel market worth 120 billion euros. It is therefore urgent to strengthen controls and promote more equitable trade agreements based on the principle of reciprocity.
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