Italy has become the leading global exporter of salami, surpassing Germany, according to a report by ISMEA - the Italian institute for agricultural and food market services.
With a total value of nearly €1.38 billion in 2016, Italy moved into first place thanks to growth in three key markets - Germany, France and the UK – which account for nearly half of overseas sales of Italian salami.
The report also indicates that Germany has increased its purchases from Italy (+4% in value in 2016) at the expense of Spanish competitors (-3%), while in France, Italian salami gained ground (+7%) compared to German producers (-7%).
Overall, Italian exports of pig-based products have grown by 27% in value over the last five years. More than half consists of seasoned hams (€692 million in 2016), followed by salami and sausages (€417 million), and cooked hams (€134 million).
Additionally, in Japan, exports from Italy grew by 7% last year, despite an overall reduction in imports of 8%.
Cheese Sector
There is also good news for Italy in the cheese market, with exports reaching 390,000 tonnes for a value of over €2.4 billion. The internal market, however, saw a drop of 3.1% in volume, according to data from trade association Assolatte, reported by Ansa.
The higher availability of raw materials led to a 45% increase in DOP cheese production, reaching 525,000 tonnes. Contributing to the growth were Grana Padano (+1.2%), Parmigiano Reggiano (+5.1%), and Gorgonzola (+1.8%).
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
