New records for foreign trade for Italian agri-food products, also in 2024.Exports grew (+8.7%) compared to an increase in imports of approximately 5%, leading to a marked improvement in the agri-food balance, which returned to positive territory after the deficit in the two-year period 2022-2023, with a surplus of 1.25 billion euros.
Agri-food exports will reach a record high in 2024, reaching 68.5 billion euros (5 billion more than in 2023), while agri-food imports will reach 67.2 billion euros.
Exports of Made in Italy agri-food products – high value-added products, recognized abroad as typical of our country – also performed excellently in 2024 , exceeding 50 billion euros, with growth of 9.3% compared to the previous year , greater than that of the agri-food sector as a whole.
Processed products and beverages are the main drivers of this trend.
The focus on the United States highlights the importance of this market for our agri-food exports, with a weight of 11.5% in 2024 , confirming our country as a strategic partner for the US market, with a strengthening, in recent years, of its competitive position.
This is what emerges from the 2024 Report on Foreign Trade in Agri-food Products , now in its 33rd edition, produced by the CREA Policies and Bioeconomy Centre.
In 2024, the increase in exports will concern all the main markets and products: excellent growth, in value and quantity, in foreign sales of prepared meats and cheeses , significant growth in cereal derivatives, confectionery products and PDO sparkling wines , and positive growth in fruit sales (+10% for apples).
Even in 2024, the trend for imports is more diversified and, in some cases, still conditioned by the trend in international prices of certain commodities, such as cocoa and raw coffee.
As for the main markets, the EU27 area accounts for 58.3% of Italy's agri-food exports and 71% of imports.
In 2024, thanks to the excellent performance of sales to the USA (+17.4%) and Canada (+14.1%), the share destined for North America will increase by almost one percentage point, after the reduction in the previous year.
2025 also started positively: the first three months saw an 11.7% growth in Italy's agri-food imports , driven by the continued high prices of certain commodities (such as raw coffee and cocoa), and agri-food exports (+6.9%) compared to the same period of the previous year, with varying dynamics across products. Cheese and baked goods—among processed products—and fruit performed well on foreign markets.
Focus United States
Italy is a net exporter of agri-food products to the United States, which in 2024 became the second largest destination market for Italian agri-food exports after Germany, surpassing France.In 2024, Italian exports to the USA reached approximately 7.9 billion euros (11.5% of total agri-food exports) , but with marked differences between products.
For some products, such as cider and “Pecorino e Fiore Sardo” (for which it will reach around 60-70% in 2024), the impact of the US market is particularly high.
The USA also has a significant share in wine exports (24%, exceeding 30% for PDO wines) and extra virgin olive oil (over 30%), while its share is lower for other products, such as tomato preserves and roasted coffee (less than 10%).
In 2024, Italy ranked first among EU countries as a supplier of agri-food products to the USA , confirming its role as a strategic partner for the US market, with its competitive position having strengthened in recent years.
"The data from our 2024 Report on Foreign Trade in Agri-Food Products ," comments Andrea Rocchi, President of CREA , " confirm the excellence and competitive strength of Italian agri-food on international markets.
The return to a positive trade balance is a clear sign of a healthy sector and demonstrates the growing competitiveness of our supply chains, especially in the higher value-added segments.
Italian agri-food is a heritage that must be increasingly valorized, a driver of economic development and territorial cohesion, as well as a fundamental lever for our country's international projection.