The XVI Ismea Report on the agri-food and wine PGI and PDOs production outlines a positive picture for Italian products, increased in 2017 both in terms of value of production and exports. The Italian PDO and PGI system, both Food and Wine, includes 882 brands with a production value of 15.2 billion euros (+ 2.6% compared to 2016) and a total turnover equal to 18% of the entire Italian agri-food sector. As far as exports are concerned, geographical indications have reached a value of 8.8 billion euro (+ 4.7% compared to 2016). The exports of PGI and PDO products represent 21% of Italian agri-food exports.
In 2017, the Food sector - cheeses, meats, fruit and vegetables, balsamic vinegars, olive oils - grew by 3.3% compared to the previous year, for a total amount og nearly 7 billion euro (+ 46% in the last 10 years). Exports, went up by 3.5%, reaching 3.5 billion with an increase of 234% considering the last 10 years. The main export destination countries are Germany (20.2%), the United States (17.9%), France (14.6%), the United Kingdom (7.3%) and Spain ( 4.3%).
In 2017, the Wine sector reached 8.27 billion euros (+ 2% on 2016) of production value and 5.26 billion euros in export value with an increase of 5.8% in 2016. Highly demanded are sparkling wines. The main export destination countries are the United States (1.31 billion euros), Germany (802 million), Great Britain (754 million), Switzerland (323 million) and Canada (318 million).
In Sardinia, the sector has over 18 thousand operators (16 thousand in the Food sector and 2 thousand in the Wine sector) for a production value of 300 million euro with 41 products (24 PDO and 17 PGI). The value of the Food sector is 193 million euros, while that of the Wine sector is 107 million. Among the Sardinian provinces, Sassari is in first place for production value in both sectors (76.3 million for the Food sector and 40.4 million for the Wine sector).
Despite these positive data for Italian PDO and PGI products, the protection of geographical indications at international level remains low due to the numerous differences and the diversity of legal systems. The European Union is working to protect its geographical indications at international level for instance in trade agreements, negotiated or being negotiated with the major partners (e.g. Canada, Japan, South Korea), where it has introduced rules for the protection of these products.