Italian food and farm exports made strong gains in 2007 and are expected to do the same next year, Agriculture Minister Paolo De Castro said on Thursday.
''Next year will start off on the right foot. Data on our agricultural exports and the latest predictions for the coming months allow us to be upbeat for another year of success,'' De Castro said.
''During the first 11 months of the year, the value of food and farm exports towards markets outside the European Union hit 2.8 billion euros which allows us to expect it to break the three-billion-euro threshold for 2007,'' he added.
''This result was thanks to a 4.2% increase for food exports and a 13% jump for agricultural products,'' the minister explained.
According to De Castro, major increases of farm and food products to emerging markets include hikes of 32% to China, 22% to Latin America, 22% to Russia and 19% to OPEC countries.
''These results demonstrate our ability to be present on non-traditional markets. Another positive note was the fact that exports towards the United States remained stable despite a weak dollar,'' De Castro observed.
''This was a very important result because it demonstrated that our productive system, as opposed to those of our EU partners, was able to consolidate its export position there,'' he added.
''It must also be remembered that 2007 was a year which saw significant hikes in prices for prime resources - including grain, feeds and milk - which had an effect on many exported farm products''.
