Fish consumption in Italy has increased from 16 kg/year per person in 2016, to 25 kg/year in the current year, with good prospects of further growth.
Meanwhile, in Europe, the average is 22.5 kg, according to reports by La Repubblica.
Italians, on average, consume fish six times a month, compared to fifteen times per month for fruit, fourteen for vegetables, and nine for legumes.
The main criteria for buying fish are freshness (13.7%), followed by price (10.4%), Italian origin (6.6%) and local origin (6.3%). Italian consumers prefer fresh fish, to frozen or packaged products.
Seven out of ten Italians says that they consume more fish because it is good for their health, while 60% say that it is because they like it.
Sales Growth
When comparing the first half of 2017 and 2016, higher fish sales were recorded by hypermarkets (+4.1% in volume and +7% in value) and supermarkets (+4.8% in volume and +6.6% in value).
Meanwhile, a drop in sales was seen at hard discounters (-7.9% in volume and -2.6% in value) and traditional retail channels (-0.2% in volume, but + 4.4% in value), based on Ismea and Nielsen data.
Italy's fish market accounts for 3% of total turnover of the food & beverage sector, but has growth potential, according to Eurispes estimates based on IRI data.
© 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
