According to recent data for the 2016/2017 season, supplied by FAMMU/FAPA based on information from the USDA, the table grape harvest in Italy will amount to approximately 1 million tonnes; 44 thousand tonnes less compared to the previous season. Thus, Italy remains the largest producer of this fruit in the European Union.
Italians are not only the largest producers of grapes in the EU-28, but the level of domestic consumption is also estimated at about 580 thousand tonnes. Italian grapes are very popular in other EU countries; in the 2015/2016 campaign, the country exported a total of almost 467 thousand tonnes of the fruit, and for the current 2016/2017 season the export volume is estimated at 442 thousand tonnes.
By far the largest importers of Italian grapes are other EU-countries. In the previous season, a total of 424 thousand tonnes were shipped to these markets. Most grapes were exported to the German market, nearly 125 thousand tonnes, followed by France, with 98.5 thousand tonnes.
Considerable volumes went also to Poland (43.5 thousand tonnes) and to Spain and Switzerland (22 thousand tonnes). In the case of imports, they are expected to drop this campaign compared to the 2015/2016 season, from 24.7 thousand tonnes down to an estimated 23 thousand tonnes.
These fruits are imported mainly from other EU countries, mainly from Spain and the Netherlands.
Source: ppr.pl
