ROME: Italy has affirmed its status as the world’s largest producer of pasta with 3,324,636 tonnes produced in 2016 (+1.6%) and sales of €4.74 billion (-1.1%), according to the annual report of the Association of the Italian Confectionery and Pasta Industries (AIDEPI), reports Ansa.
Italian producers allocated almost 1.9 million tonnes of pasta for exports to foreign markets, an increase of 3.4% on the previous year’s volumes. However, the value of exported goods dropped slightly to €2.17 billion, with exports still accounting for 46% of the total value generated.
Also performing strongly is the Italian confectionery industry, with close to two million tonnes produced (+ 1.4%) for a value of €13.2 billion (+0.8%).
The sector with the highest growth on 2015 was that of chocolate and cocoa-based products with about 520,000 tonnes (+ 3.2% y/y) for a value of nearly €5 billion (+3.9% y/y).
Moreover, the confectionery industry recovered with a production of almost 100,000 tonnes (+1.8%), with a value of more than €1 billion (+1% y/y).
