27 April 2022
Rome, May 11, 2022
The European House - Ambrosetti, in collaboration with Italmercati, the Italian association of wholesale food markets, held on Wednesday, May 11, 2022 the presentation of the paper “L’Italia alla prova del cambiamento: la risposta dei mercati agroalimentari all’ingrosso".
The event wsa aimed at discussing the contribution and value of wholesale agri-food markets for the Italian agri-food chain, also in the light of the evolution of the scenario and the new challenges that Italy will face in the coming months. In 2021, the Italian agri-food chain has been confirmed as one of the leading sectors of its national economy thanks to its positive performance, which has achieved record numbers for many of the main economic indicators. Within the extended agri-food chain, wholesale agri-food markets are a fundamental asset for the competitiveness and resilience of the sector, and especially in a period of great uncertainty such as the one we are experiencing.
Italmercati’s network, with its 19 participating markets, has a national-level extension in Italy and enables a turnover of €9 billion, through over 2,500 companies. Markets are a key factor in the agri-food supply chain and their presence ensures sustainable production, uniform distribution, variety of goods, and minimisation of food waste.
The speakers were high-level stakeholders of the Italian agri-food chain, trade associations, Italian and European reference institutions and local authorities from various Italian regions, to discuss the evolution of Italy’s agri-food sector, the strategic importance of wholesale agri-food markets, and the role that they may play in guaranteeing food quality, safety, traceability and sustainability, by sharing their logistic and organizational know-how with all the actors of the supply chain.