Market

In the complex world of agricultural and food legislation, few regulations have had as profound an impact as the European Union's Regulation No. 2081/92. This groundbreaking regulation, introduced in 1992, established a comprehensive system for protecting geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs. Known as PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) and PGI (Protected Geographical Indication), these designations ensure that only products genuinely originating in a particular region can bear the name of that region. This not only preserves traditional methods and high standards of production but also provides a powerful tool for marketing and protecting the…

With three Michelin stars, Noma is one of the world’s top restaurants so it is no wonder that the recent announcement, made by its Chef René Redzepi, about closing the business at the end of 2024 made the headlines all over the world. An abbreviation of the Danish words “nordisk” (Nordic) and “mad” (food), Noma opened in a former whale-oil warehouse in Copenhagen in 2003. It already shut down once, back in 2016, only to reopen two years later in a different neighborhood of the Danish capital. The restaurant has regularly ranked among the top 10 on the “World’s 50…

The steady growth registered in pet product sales over the last ten years speaks for a shared love that involves almost half of the households worldwide, where nowadays domestic animals are literally considered as family members. In this sense, pet owners have shown not only the willingness to spend a significant amount of money to feed them with “proper” food, but lately their buying behavior is also calling for a significant revision of the entire sector. Just like they would do for their own food shopping, pet owners are increasingly looking for clean labels, simple composition, local production and top…

Besides the turmoil caused by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the drought that recently hit many countries all over the world adds worry to all of us operating in the food business. In the USA, spring wheat, durum wheat, barley and cotton are expected to have the lowest yields since the 1980s; cereals and other crops are not meant to be abundant in Europe either. The outlook is rather negative in Africa as well, as drought conditions are affecting large areas of the East Africa region. Crop conditions have deteriorated in many parts and, although South Africa’s maize output is…

The food sector has always experienced a constant evolution. Customers’ needs change and so does the offer, organized to meet them in the best possible way. The acceleration of the digitalization process during the pandemic impacted all sectors and the food industry was no exception. The way people interact with food has changed dramatically, with a growing number of consumers still choosing to enjoy restaurant meals at home. The combination of these elements is reshaping the food and beverage landscape in such a quick and defined way that some of the trends that emerged in the last few years are…

With the fastest-growing middle class in the world, China is experiencing major lifestyle changes that could significantly impact the export business. The continuous growth of the domestic per capita income is leading around 80% of consumers to invest in imported food products, especially the ones associated with a healthier diet, thus making China the world’s largest food importer and consumer. Yet, as highlighted by Reuters a few months ago, China’s new import rules are due to cause headaches for food and beverage makers and exporters alike. The Chinese government has tried to implement new rules covering food imports for years.…

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, energy and food prices have significantly risen. The impact of the direct and indirect supply shocks that the conflict brought to commodity markets is strictly linked to the degree of reliance on wheat and energy from these countries. Nearly 30% of all wheat exports come from these two countries (around 10% Ukraine and 20% Russia). Their wheat is mainly imported by countries in the Middle East and North Africa with vulnerable economies, thus making the current situation in Ukraine also a threat to global food security. The disrupted wheat export supply…

The COVID-19 pandemic forced us all to face unprecedented challenges. We do not seem to be completely out of it yet, but surely now we can afford a little time to look back and reflect upon the changes it brought in our industry. From farmers still being able to keep their production alive to traders moving food around the world - despite the logistics difficulties we all know - and retailers doing their best to keep shelves as full as possible, there seem to be plenty of reasons to pat ourselves on the shoulder. If we look into the future,…

Last November and December the market registered yet another rise – the third in the past six months – in agricultural prices. It was a +5.1% month-on-month, stronger than October’s 2.5% increase which was largely due to higher prices for many commodities and especially, among the others for wheat and coffee, as ongoing weather concerns in major-producing areas ( such Brazil, Canada and Eastern Europe) continued to hinder the supply scenario amid rising demand. On a larger scale, last September the FAO Food Price Index reported a staggering +23.1% of global food prices compared with December 2020 (for 2021 as…

If there has ever been a time for Prosecco, this must be now. Not just because the festive season is upon us, but literally because Prosecco seems to be the trending topic in the food and drink industry at the moment. Astonishing figures are reported by the press: in 2020, 500 million bottles were produced, for a turnover of 2.4 billion euros. Now, with an export growth of 35% in the first six months of 2021, Prosecco is the most consumed Italian wine in the world. The success story of Prosecco saw a tenfold expansion in sales over the past…

Since 2011, when FAO first presented the estimate that around one third of the world’s food was lost or wasted every year, the global perception of this issue has very much changed becoming a matter of public concern. In order to raise awareness and to promote global efforts and collective actions towards finding possible solutions at all levels, the United Nations General Assembly designated 29 September as the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste (IDAFLW). Still, we seem to be rather far away from meeting the Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.3, which aims at halving per capita…

In a highly competitive market such as the food industry, it is of the utmost importance to be always at an advantage in terms of business knowledge and awareness of the market trends. The food sector has undergone many significant changes since we launched Alifood back in 1995. At the time we used to export Italian food products to Japan which was, back then, an untapped market. Thanks to the success we achieved there, we gathered momentum and started to expand our business in many other international countries. Our specialization in Italian food and the way we dealt with our…