In the framework of the Third week of Italian Cuisine in the World, the Embassy of Italy in Washington together with the Trade Agency in New York, organized a meeting on imports of Italian food and wine products to the US market. The event included officials from the Italian Ministry of Health, the European Union delegation in Washington and from the federal agencies that are most important to our exports, such as the FDA (Health Department), FSIS (Agriculture Department – USDA) and Customs. During the meeting, experts presented new trends in the food and wine sector in the US.
The meeting focused on the status of our exports in the important North American market and enabled companies to interact directly with the Italian and US institutions.
The agricultural and food sector is one of Italy’s main exports to the US, which confirms US consumers’ attention to the quality of the products of our food and wine tradition. In 2017, our exports reached 4.8 billion dollars, up by 5.4% compared to 2016. In the first 9 months of 2018, Italian exports to the US amounted to 3,758 billion dollars, a 9.8% leap compared to the same period last year.
Italy is also the undisputed leader in terms of quantity of wine exported, and ranks second in terms of value. This growth goes hand-in-hand with increasing direct investments, as testified by the presence of several Italian companies at the meeting. A direct testament to the dynamism of a sector which combines enduring quality and cutting-edge technology with a constant – and continuing – attention for the food traditions that have long distinguished our Country.
“Italy continues to be recognized as synonymous with excellence, especially in the food and wine sector. Quality, tradition, passion and innovation are the hallmarks of a forward-looking sector that in recent years has overcome the fiercest competition and asserted itself on the US market” commented the Ambassador of Italy, Armando Varricchio.