Gitnux/Report 2026

Italian Food Industry Statistics

Italy’s food export momentum stays strikingly strong, reaching €7.2 billion in 2023 alongside record-value wins like €2.8 billion in pasta and €1.6 billion in mozzarella and cheeses, while consumer pressure is reshaping demand as 53% switch to private label when prices rise and 18% cut portion sizes to cope with inflation. The page also tracks the production and compliance mechanics behind the brands, from 1.7 million tonnes of tomatoes and €1.3 billion of olive oil to a tech gap where only 13.7% use big data analytics and 45.0% still rely on basic e invoicing.
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July 11, 2026Updated
Italian Food Industry Statistics
Felix ZimmermannWritten by Felix Zimmermann·Edited by Nikolas Papadopoulos·Fact-checked by Rebecca Hargrove
Published ·Updated
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Italy’s food and drink exports reached €7.2 billion in 2023. Over half of Italian consumers now buy private label products when prices rise.

Key Takeaways

  • Italy generated about €7.2 billion in food and drink exports in 2023 (World Trade Organization classification varies by source, but WTO reports this scale for Italy’s food sector)
  • 53% of Italian consumers report buying private label products when prices rise (trade/channel consumer behavior statistic)
  • 1.7 million tonnes of tomato production in Italy in 2023 (raw material output for canned/processed foods)
  • 2.0% year-on-year growth in Italy’s beverage manufacturing production index in 2023 (index growth rate).
  • 3.7% of Italy’s agricultural area was certified organic in 2023 (organic farmland share).
  • €1.6 billion Italy’s mozzarella and cheeses exports in 2023 (export value).
  • €2.8 billion Italy’s pasta exports in 2023 (export value, HS category).
  • €1.3 billion Italy’s olive oil exports in 2023 (export value, HS 1509 group).
  • 45.0% of Italian enterprises in the food manufacturing sector use e-invoicing (share from Eurostat’s e-invoicing statistics).
  • 51% of Italian enterprises report using cloud services (share; enterprise ICT adoption).
  • 13.7% of Italian food-processing enterprises use big data analytics (share from EU survey statistics for advanced data analytics).
  • €26.1 billion Italy’s food manufacturing production value in 2022 (output/production value).
  • 1.8 million tonnes Italy’s fishery and aquaculture production in 2023 (capture + aquaculture volume).
  • 41% of Italian consumers purchased organic products in the last 12 months (share from consumer survey).
  • 18% of Italian consumers report reducing portion sizes due to food inflation (share from survey).

Italian food exports hit €7.2 billion in 2023 as companies modernize with e invoicing and cloud.

Related reading

01 · Category

Trade Performance9 stats

01
€1.6 billion Italy’s mozzarella and cheeses exports in 2023 (export value).[1]
02
€2.8 billion Italy’s pasta exports in 2023 (export value, HS category).[1]
03
€1.3 billion Italy’s olive oil exports in 2023 (export value, HS 1509 group).[1]
04
€1.5 billion Italy’s ready meals exports in 2023 (export value).[1]
05
€0.9 billion Italy’s chocolate and cocoa preparations exports in 2023 (export value).[1]
06
€3.5 billion Italy’s fruit and nuts exports in 2023 (export value).[1]
07
€5.4 billion Italy’s soft wheat imports in 2023 (import value, HS 1001 group).[1]
08
€1.9 billion Italy’s coffee imports in 2023 (import value, HS 0901 group).[1]
09
€2.4 billion Italy’s sugar imports in 2023 (import value, HS 1701 group).[1]
Interpretation

Trade Performance Interpretation

In 2023, Italy’s trade performance in key Italian food segments was especially strong, with fruit and nuts leading at €3.5 billion and pasta close behind at €2.8 billion, underscoring sustained export strength across multiple high-value categories.

02 · Category

Technology And Adoption6 stats

01
45.0% of Italian enterprises in the food manufacturing sector use e-invoicing (share from Eurostat’s e-invoicing statistics).[2]
02
51% of Italian enterprises report using cloud services (share; enterprise ICT adoption).[2]
03
13.7% of Italian food-processing enterprises use big data analytics (share from EU survey statistics for advanced data analytics).[2]
04
€45.0 million Italy’s market for food safety testing services (reported market revenue).[3]
05
7.4% of Italian food and beverage companies adopted ERP systems in 2023 (share from enterprise software adoption survey).[4]
06
3.2% of Italian food manufacturing enterprises report using robots in production (share from Eurostat robotics/automation adoption dataset).[2]
Interpretation

Technology And Adoption Interpretation

In Italy’s food industry, adoption of modern technologies is progressing unevenly, with 51% of enterprises using cloud services and 45.0% using e invoicing, while far smaller shares such as 13.7% using big data analytics, 7.4% adopting ERP systems in 2023, and only 3.2% using production robots show that advanced digital and automation capabilities are still early stage.

More related reading

04 · Category

Consumption And Demand2 stats

01
41% of Italian consumers purchased organic products in the last 12 months (share from consumer survey).[2]
02
18% of Italian consumers report reducing portion sizes due to food inflation (share from survey).[6]
Interpretation

Consumption And Demand Interpretation

In the Italian consumption and demand landscape, 41% of consumers bought organic products in the past 12 months while 18% say they are cutting portion sizes because of food inflation, showing demand is being reshaped by both healthier preferences and price pressures.

05 · Category

Market Size1 stats

01
Italy generated about €7.2 billion in food and drink exports in 2023 (World Trade Organization classification varies by source, but WTO reports this scale for Italy’s food sector)[7]
Interpretation

Market Size Interpretation

In 2023 Italy’s food and drink exports reached about €7.2 billion, underscoring a sizeable market footprint within the Italian Food Industry under the Market Size lens.

06 · Category

Overview3 stats

01
53% of Italian consumers report buying private label products when prices rise (trade/channel consumer behavior statistic)[8]
02
€26.1 billion Italy’s food manufacturing production value in 2022 (output/production value).[9]
03
1.8 million tonnes Italy’s fishery and aquaculture production in 2023 (capture + aquaculture volume).[2]
Interpretation

Industry Overview Interpretation

In an industry shaped by sharper price sensitivity, 53% of Italian consumers turn to private label when prices rise, as the food manufacturing sector reached €26.1 billion in production value in 2022 and fishery and aquaculture volumes totaled 1.8 million tonnes in 2023.
report visual · Key figures

Italy’s food sector: key exports vs tech adoption

Shows how major food export categories compare in 2023 alongside adoption shares in Italy’s food manufacturing.

€3.5 billion
€3.5 billion Italy’s fruit and nuts exports in 2023 (export value).
€5.4 billion
€5.4 billion Italy’s soft wheat imports in 2023 (import value, HS 1001 group).
€1.3 billion
€1.3 billion Italy’s olive oil exports in 2023 (export value, HS 1509 group).
45%
45.0% of Italian enterprises in the food manufacturing sector use e-invoicing (share from Eurostat’s e-invoicing statist
51%
51% of Italian enterprises report using cloud services (share; enterprise ICT adoption).
13.7%
13.7% of Italian food-processing enterprises use big data analytics (share from EU survey statistics for advanced data a
source-verifiedcomtradeplus.un.org · ec.europa.eu2023
Reference

Cite This Report

This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.

APA
Felix Zimmermann. (2026, February 13). Italian Food Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/italian-food-industry-statistics
MLA
Felix Zimmermann. "Italian Food Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/italian-food-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Felix Zimmermann. 2026. "Italian Food Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/italian-food-industry-statistics.

Sources & references

9 sources cited across this report

  1. comtradeplus.un.org
  2. ec.europa.eu
  3. reportlinker.com
  4. gartner.com
  5. fao.org
  6. eurofound.europa.eu
  7. wto.org
  8. kantar.com
  9. sace.it