Italian fruit and vegetable exports in the first half of 2017 reached two million tonnes, and were worth €2.3 billion, according to the Italian fruit growers association Frutimprese. This represents a 6.8% decrease in volume, but a 3.1% increase in value compared to the same period in 2016. The strongest performance was recorded by fresh fruit (+6.6%) and vegetables (+4.3 %), while there has been a drop in citrus fruits (-15%) and dried fruit (-8%).

Meanwhile, imports grew both in volume (+9.1%) and in value (+5.5%), driven in particular by citrus fruits (+43.2%), as well as fresh fruit (+12.8%) and tropical fruit (+9.5%). Commenting on the results, the national vice president of Frutimprese, Giacomo Suglia, pointed out that the strong performance was achieved despite a Russian embargo, and some challenging markets in North Africa.