Il Cibus of Parma – scheduled this year from 3 to 6 May – has always been considered a point of reference for the promotion of national agri-food productions to foreign buyers. For this edition, in which expectations are very high because it marks the effective recovery of the trade fair for the sector, as many as 2.000 top buyers from the United States, Europe, the Middle East, South America and Asia have been announced by the trade fair organisation. An interesting opportunity also for the producers of extra virgin olive oil which will be present in significant numbers at the event.
But why do foreign consumers buy our oil? A pertinent question, because the manufacturer must refer to it when approaching foreign markets. In this regard, the considerations of Denis Pantini, Agriculture and Food Industry Manager at Nomisma (in the picture), according to which "from surveys that we have carried out in recent years, in the various world markets it has emerged that, in consumer perception, Italian extra virgin olive oil is in first place for quality. It is found in 58% of US consumers, 53% of Japanese and 43% of Germans. Among the factors, compared to that of the competitors, emerge in all the markets analysed organoleptic characteristics, nutritional values and health qualities".
Therefore all-round quality, among consumers belonging to countries where the export of Italian oil is greatest. “In 2021 – underlines Pantini – the export of extra virgin olive oil from Italy is worth about 1,5 billion euros, 3% of Italian agri-food exports. The first buyers of Italian Evo were the USA, with a 30% share, followed by Germany 14%, France 10% and Japan 6%".
Quality that often rhymes with identity. “The territorial origin – adds the Nomisma expert – it can be an extra value Germany e United States, where some regions are perceived as territories with a high production vocation of quality extra virgin olive oil, Tuscany and Sicily in primis. In Japan on the other hand, the knowledge of the territories is less developed and the packaging and the combination with the local cuisine take on more importance”.
This is why, especially for the so-called western markets, an important lever of promotion for olive oil is represented by all those initiatives that promote the territory, such as cooking, food and wine tourism and, most recently, also in the legislative panorama , oil tourism. “In all our consumer surveys, in defining the identikit of the Made in Italy food&wine consumer – remarked Denis Pantini – a consumer emerges who has been to our country in recent years for vacation or work. An aspect to take into consideration, therefore, that of the promotion of the territory, to develop the export of any agri-food product. And olive oil figures fully in this series”.
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