The PDO Economy: over 20 billion for the first time

Source: Ismea, Qualivita Foundation

Against a macroeconomic backdrop which is deeply affected by the energy and climate crises, Italy's PDO economy is once again displaying positive performance with record values. The 21st Ismea-Qualivita Report highlights how the production value of the PDO and PGI sector soared above the 20-billion Euro mark in 2022 (+6.4% annually), accounting for 20% of the total turnover of Italy’s food and agriculture sector.  Within the sector itself, food accounts for nearly 9 billion Euro (+9%), whilst wine exceeds 11 billion Euro (+5%). They are important results in spite of being impacted, at least in part, by inflation, and prove just how sound Italy’s PDO economy is: it is a well-organised system that numbers 296 Consortia to safeguard the products concerned, all of which are authorised by the Ministry of Agriculture. In total, the food and wine supply chains number upwards of 195,000 enterprises. For the first time, the number of people employed by the sector has been estimated at 580 thousand units in farming, and 310 thousand in transformation.