ROME: Italian dairy product exports have risen by 92% in the period 2006-2016, compared to a 72% rise for total Italian agri-food exports.
This result has been achieved despite a continued erosion in domestic consumption (-11% in the period 2011-2016), according to a study by Agrifood Monitor, presented at the Cibus Connect fair in Parma.
Cheese remains the biggest export category, thanks to the €2.4 billion of foreign sales in 2016, accounting for 82% of the total value of dairy export. Cheese has also shown positive growth rates, both in the long-term (+96% in 2006-2016), as well as last year.
Italian cheese exports registered a positive performance in a global market that has seen a stagnation in dairy product trade over the past two years.
In this market segment, worth over €24 billion, the top 10 world exporters have 72%. Italy, with a 10% share, is fourth in the ranking after Germany (14%), The Netherlands and France (both 12%).
However, Italy is leader in terms of price (€6.23 per kilogram), ahead of France (€4.42 per kilogram) and Germany (€2.81 per kilogram).
