Rome – In 2015, Italy’s food sales reached €135 billion, thanks to record export levels and a recovery in domestic consumption. This emerges from a Coldiretti analysis presented during the signing ceremony for the MoU “Diamo Credito all’agroalimentare italiano” between the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and Intesa San Paolo in the presence of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. Agribusiness is the second manufacturing sector in Italy, almost singlehandedly – stresses Coldiretti –uplifting the whole economy, especially in terms of exports; because Italian food is synonymous with quality. And precisely exports reached an all-time high of €36 billion (+ 7%), with an 11% increase for fruits and vegetables; 10% for olive oil; 9% and 6% for pasta and wine, respectively, with the latter reaching a record-breaking preliminary annual turnover of €5.4 billion (according to ISTAT data for the first 10 months of 2015). “Italy has been able to seize the opportunity offered by the Universal Exhibition to tell the world about its agri-food model and its unique values, “said the president of Coldiretti Roberto Moncalvo in stressing that “Italian agriculture has become the greenest Europe, with the largest number of Community-level certifications for food products designation of PDO / PGI origin”. (9Colonne)
