Market

With the fastest-growing middle class in the world, China is experiencing major lifestyle changes that could significantly impact the export business. The continuous growth of the domestic per capita income is leading around 80% of consumers to invest in imported food products, especially the ones associated with a healthier diet, thus making China the world’s largest food importer and consumer. Yet, as highlighted by Reuters a few months ago, China’s new import rules are due to cause headaches for food and beverage makers and exporters alike. The Chinese government has tried to implement new rules covering food imports for years.…

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, energy and food prices have significantly risen. The impact of the direct and indirect supply shocks that the conflict brought to commodity markets is strictly linked to the degree of reliance on wheat and energy from these countries. Nearly 30% of all wheat exports come from these two countries (around 10% Ukraine and 20% Russia). Their wheat is mainly imported by countries in the Middle East and North Africa with vulnerable economies, thus making the current situation in Ukraine also a threat to global food security. The disrupted wheat export supply…

The COVID-19 pandemic forced us all to face unprecedented challenges. We do not seem to be completely out of it yet, but surely now we can afford a little time to look back and reflect upon the changes it brought in our industry. From farmers still being able to keep their production alive to traders moving food around the world - despite the logistics difficulties we all know - and retailers doing their best to keep shelves as full as possible, there seem to be plenty of reasons to pat ourselves on the shoulder. If we look into the future,…

Last November and December the market registered yet another rise – the third in the past six months – in agricultural prices. It was a +5.1% month-on-month, stronger than October’s 2.5% increase which was largely due to higher prices for many commodities and especially, among the others for wheat and coffee, as ongoing weather concerns in major-producing areas ( such Brazil, Canada and Eastern Europe) continued to hinder the supply scenario amid rising demand. On a larger scale, last September the FAO Food Price Index reported a staggering +23.1% of global food prices compared with December 2020 (for 2021 as…

If there has ever been a time for Prosecco, this must be now. Not just because the festive season is upon us, but literally because Prosecco seems to be the trending topic in the food and drink industry at the moment. Astonishing figures are reported by the press: in 2020, 500 million bottles were produced, for a turnover of 2.4 billion euros. Now, with an export growth of 35% in the first six months of 2021, Prosecco is the most consumed Italian wine in the world. The success story of Prosecco saw a tenfold expansion in sales over the past…

Since 2011, when FAO first presented the estimate that around one third of the world’s food was lost or wasted every year, the global perception of this issue has very much changed becoming a matter of public concern. In order to raise awareness and to promote global efforts and collective actions towards finding possible solutions at all levels, the United Nations General Assembly designated 29 September as the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste (IDAFLW). Still, we seem to be rather far away from meeting the Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.3, which aims at halving per capita…

In a highly competitive market such as the food industry, it is of the utmost importance to be always at an advantage in terms of business knowledge and awareness of the market trends. The food sector has undergone many significant changes since we launched Alifood back in 1995. At the time we used to export Italian food products to Japan which was, back then, an untapped market. Thanks to the success we achieved there, we gathered momentum and started to expand our business in many other international countries. Our specialization in Italian food and the way we dealt with our…

After having been quiet for seven months, it is not by chance that we selected this title for a brand new article on our blog.  A pandemic is by definition a situation that involves everybody, that worst case scenario - from a health standpoint – which takes us all by surprise and somehow forces us to reconsider our own circumstances. This is exactly what we did in the last few months: first of all, we took care of our co-workers, ensuring that they could still operate in a safe environment; then we moved on to reassessing our position in the…

  Faced with a global emergency such as the Covid-19 virus, the European authority has finally intervened. Marta Hugas, Scientific Assistance Directorate of EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), had this to say: “There is no scientific proof that food is a source or vehicle of transmission of the Covid-19 virus: transmission occurs through the pharyngeal-nasal tract and, as far as we are currently aware, not through the digestive tract. The European Union benefits from clear rules and regulations regarding biosecurity and industrial hygiene and these rules guarantee a high level of food safety for consumers”. EFSA has issued a statement affirming…

  With a turnover of more than 16 billion euros, crisis is an unknown word to the leadership of Italian handmade gelato. A supply chain that includes the producers of raw ingredients and semi-finished goods, machine manufacturers, and finally the finished product prepared and served by the master ice-cream makers, with Made in Italy on top of the world at all such stages. An estimated 100,000 ice cream parlours exist worldwide, and the business continues to grow by 5% every year. Italy is the undisputed home of handmade gelato and the world’s greatest consumer. It boasts 19,000 production and sales…

  Let’s get one thing clear: the Covid-19 virus cannot be transmitted through food products, nor through the packaging containing said products. This needs to be clearly stated once and for all considering the recent disinformation that has been spread thanks to the current state of collective psychosis. In the uttermost silence of the European Committee, Italian food products are currently suffering a speculative boycotting. This situation, in the words of the Italian government’s Minister of Agricultural Policies, Teresa Bellanova, “risks leading to a block in Italy’s food and agriculture exports”. In an open letter, Minister Bellanova denounces “the position…

  The agri-food sector is the number one driving force behind Italian industry. Compared to the contraction seen in two longstanding sectors of its manufacturing industry – fashion (-4.6%) and the automotive sector (-4.4%) – the latest report issued by Coldiretti, the Italian national farming federation, has announced an increase of 3% in the agri-food sector, based on ISTAT national statistics. Coldiretti stresses how food has become Italy’s main source of wealth thanks to its extensive agrifood supply chain, which stretches from fields to shelves to catering businesses and is worth €538 billion, the equivalent of 25% of the country’s…