Italy has overtaken China to become the second biggest global producer of processed tomato products after the United States, the national association of canned vegetable industries ANICAV has said. The Italian processed tomato industry is worth approximately 3.2 billion euros, of which exports account for around 50%, the association added.

The main export markets are the European Union - accounting for around 60% - followed by the United States, Japan and Australia, ANICAV manager Giovanni De Angelis said. "The export routes for processed tomato products have always followed our migratory flows in the first instance and then Italian catering abroad, and now the success ... of iconic Made in Italy products such as pasta and pizza, which are difficult to imagine without tomatoes," De Angelis said. 

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Source: http://www.ansa.it/