Italy has overtaken China to become the second-biggest global producer of processed tomato products (5.2 million tonnes), after the United States.
The Italian processed-tomato industry (120 companies) accounts for 14% of world and 49% of European production. It is worth approximately €3.2 billion, of which exports account for around 50%, according to data published by the National Association of Canned-Vegetable Industries (ANICAV).
About 60% of production is destined for foreign markets, both within Europe (Germany, France, the UK) and to other countries (the USA, Japan, Australia), with an export value of €1.6 billion.
This year, favourable weather conditions in northern regions of Italy saw production of processed tomato products rise to 2.8 million tonnes, while bad weather and planning difficulties in the centre and south led to a drop in production, to 2.3 million tonnes.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
