Agrifood has become Italy’s leading manufacturing sector, combining agricultural tradition with industrial processing, scientific research, logistics and international distribution. Its national added value has reached €81.6 billion, placing it ahead of industries historically associated with Italian manufacturing leadership.
The sector’s added value is approximately 50% higher than that generated by metallurgy, nearly 3 times that of fashion and about 5 times the value recorded by several other traditional industrial segments. These figures demonstrate that food and beverage production is not merely part of Italy’s cultural identity – it is one of the country’s most powerful economic engines.
