The "food and wine" industry, which accounts for 17% of the Italian GDP, will increasingly be a driving force for growth for the whole Italian system and is one of our country's five pillars, along with design furniture, industrial automation, fashion apparel, and tourist reception. If Food & Wine is one of the most well-known Made in Italy industries in the world, it is supported by the hospitality sector, where Italy excels in many ways, starting with the beauty of its art. This unique mix becomes even more important when we examine the pillars on which Italy has developed its competitive stance throughout time, namely: product quality, dynamism of small enterprises, territorial idiosyncrasies, culture, and art. Further records held by Italy provide insight into the country's Food & Wine industry's phenomenal achievement. Indeed, there are approximately 57,500 animal species and 12,000 plant species in the country, making Italy the richest naturalistic ecosystem in Europe, as well as the world's leading producer of traditional quality and specialty goods. Italy is also the top nation in the world for the number of PDO, PGI, STG with 825 Food & Wine items examined out of a total of 3,020 in the world, as well as the first for wine production and the first for wine vine types, with 545 now registered. Furthermore, of all Italian industrial sectors, the Food & Wine industry proved to be the most robust to the Covid-19 crisis, with a 1.8% decrease in added value in 2020, compared to -8.9% for the whole Italian economy.
|