Massimiliano Cattozzi comments on the Italian Agrifood Districts Monitor

"The Italian agrifood sector has continued to grow over recent months, confirming itself as one of the most promising sectors for export despite complex geopolitical and climate-related challenges," commented Massimiliano Cattozzi, Head of Agribusiness at Intesa Sanpaolo. “To further increase competitiveness and growth in international markets, Intesa Sanpaolo continues to support investments, having allocated over 6 billion euros through the Agribusiness Department since 2021 solely to agrifood SMEs. These funds, directed primarily at sustainability, innovation, and digital transformation, help smaller companies tackle sustainable development and transition processes. This is the goal of our Your Future is Our Business program, which aims to strengthen Made in Italy in the agrifood sector."

After closing 2023 with a 4.5% growth in exports compared to 2022, Italian agrifood districts have kept up this positive trend in Q1 2024, achieving nearly 7.1 billion euros in exports—441 million euros more than the same period last year, marking a 6.6% year-over-year growth at current prices. This data emerges from the Italian Agrifood Districts Monitor as of March 31, 2024, curated by the Intesa Sanpaolo Research Department. The trend mirrors that of total Italian agrifood exports (+6.7%) and runs counter to other manufacturing districts, which experienced a slight decline (-2.7%).

Wine and Other Agrifood District Performance

The wine district supply chain posted a 2.4% increase in Q1 2024, with ten monitored districts generating over 1.5 billion euros in exports, rebounding from a slight drop in 2023 (-0.7% from 2022). The Verona Wine District stands out with double-digit growth (+11.6%), as do the Wine Districts of Chianti and the Sienese Hills (+7.4%). Conegliano-Valdobbiadene Prosecco remains stable (+0.4%), while Langhe, Roero, and Monferrato Wines—Italy’s highest-value wine district—saw a slight dip (-2%).

Other Q1 2024 Highlights:

• Slight increase for agricultural districts (+0.6% year-over-year)
• Pasta and confectionery aligned with last year’s trend (+4.4%)
• Preserved foods performing well in foreign markets (+8.4%)
• Meat supply chain showing progress overall (+6.1%)
• Mixed results in the dairy sector (+2.1%), with significant differences across districts
• Oil supply chain leading district export growth (+65%)
• Rice was the only sector with a minor decline (-0.8%)
• Coffee supply chain showing growth (+8%)
• Strong performance from the Polesine and Venetian fisheries sector (+19.8%)

Top Export Markets Germany remains the top trading partner for agrifood district products (+4.2%), while exports to the United States gained new momentum (+17.2%) after a slight decrease in 2023 (-1.4%). Exports to France (+1.9%) and the United Kingdom (+0.8%) also grew. Emerging markets, which account for 20% of total agrifood district exports, saw a 10.1% increase (compared to +5.8% for advanced economies). Within emerging markets, Poland (+10.3%) and Romania (+17.5%) posted strong growth, with China (+6.9%) and Russia (+44.7%) also recovering.