The Italian meat industry has seen a 75% growth in exports over the past ten years, counterbalancing a contraction in domestic consumption.
Last year, for every €100 of meat industry sales, €12 were achieved in foreign markets. This put the total value of meat exports at €2.8 billion (9% of the total food sector), according to Agrifood Monitor.
Cold Cuts Hold Sway
The most dynamic component of meat exports is that of cold cuts and derivatives, worth €1.6 billion in 2016 (56% of the meat total) and growing by 91% compared to 2006 and by 4.5% in 2016.
Italy has a 7.7% share of the world cold cuts market, out of a total value of €21 billion in 2016. Of these, €3.4 billion (16% of the total) is accounted for by the UK, the main importer of Italian cold cuts. This figure has grown by 33% over the last 10 years.
The interest of UK consumers for Italian cold cuts is significant - 87% of them purchased them on at least one occasion in the last 12 months and 57% several times during a week.
These purchases are made mainly through retail channels - hypermarkets and supermarkets, discount and convenience stores, but also via the internet.
The most popular Italian cold cuts are cooked ham, Parma ham, Milano salami and Mortadella.
© 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
