ROME, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Food exports in Italy exceeded imports for the first time in "recent history" last year, when global food markets were impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, the country's main agriculture federation said Thursday.
Data released by Coldiretti showed that Italy's agricultural and food exports last year rose 1.7 percent to a record high of 46.1 billion euros (54.4 billion U.S. dollars), while imports sank to 43 billion euros. It was the first time agricultural and food exports outnumbered imports since such records have been kept.
The export and import indicators were trending towards a crossover, Coldiretti said, though the actual tipping point was not expected so soon.
While Coldiretti said the milestone was "historic" and an overall positive sign for the country's food production sector, it also noted that the coronavirus pandemic played a disruptive role in the trends by impacting food trade routes, slowing global economic growth and sparking food hoarding, market speculation and general uncertainty.
In a statement, the federation said that the World Food Price Index tabulated by the Rome-based United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization was nearing multi-year highs and that the European Union is working on a plan to help member states become more food autonomous over the coming years.
Still, Coldiretti President Ettore Prandini said the pandemic would have positive impacts on the Italian agricultural and food sector, helping to build recognition for Italian food products and helping to improve the country's agricultural sector as part of the wider effort to update infrastructure and modernize the economy in the wake of the pandemic.(1 euro = 1.18 U.S. dollars) Enditem
