The rich United Arab Emirates market demands more Italian organic products

Agri-food exports have their sights on the Far East, where growth is well into double figures in countries like China, Korea and Malaysia. The area has great unexpressed potential: Italian products are a must, but our penetration is still low. It is no coincidence that the Ice recently signed a new agreement with Amazon to support the internationalisation of small and medium-sized enterprises focusing on Japan and the United Arab Emirates. The latter is a country very advanced in terms of digitisation of trade. Expo Dubai 2021, which closed in March 2022, was a success. And it gave a further boost to the image of a country projected towards innovation. And towards which Italy exports agri-food goods for 189 million euros (ICE data), making it the 18th partner exporter, with a market share of 1.85% (a far cry from the almost 5 billion euros going to our leading partner, Germany), of which more than 30 are attributable to fruit, vegetables and their preparations. A focus on its potential was carried out by the fourth Ita.Bio forum, the platform of data and information for the internationalisation of Italian organic products managed by Nomisma and promoted by the Ice Agency and FederBio. “A reference point for Italian companies interested in exporting their organic products abroad,” remarked Silvia Zucconi, head of Market Intelligence at Nomisma. Paolo Carnemolla, FederBio’s secretary general, emphasised “Ita.Bio’s contribution is particularly relevant, considering that the organic sector is regulated by standards and certification systems which, outside the EU and the equivalence agreements already signed, require specific expertise, as well as direct relations with local certification systems”. The country, which has a population equivalent to that of Lombardy, is experiencing a constant increase in average income that is bringing about a gradual transition towards a healthy lifestyle. A switch that has been accentuated by the pandemic. According to the Nomisma survey, 16% of people have started eating organic products since the beginning of the health emergency; however, more than 1 in 2 families (53%) has eaten an organic product in the last 12 months. The diffusion of organic products is greater amongst high-income families and individuals under 45 years of age (57% and 56%, respectively). Another target group where the appeal of organic products is very strong is that of tourists. Organic products are thus becoming a purchase driver. The fundamental point is that in the organic market Italy is perceived as being one of the three most attractive countries (11%), behind Saudi Arabia (21%) and the USA (16%) alone. Yet, despite the high perceived positioning, availability is not high: Italian organic products have a penetration rate of 8%. However, 82% of consumers would purchase one of our organic products if they found it in their usual retail channels. And 8 out of 10 would be willing to pay more for an organic product with a Made in Italy guarantee. This opens up significant opportunities for growth, especially for Italian fruit, one of the categories with the biggest appeal, alongside condiments, pasta and dairy products. Although the health factor has proven its worth as a fundamental purchase driver, product information and cooking suggestions also make a significant contribution, whereas the brand and packaging have less impact. Undoubtedly, we are talking about a market that is still small: pro capita spending on organic products in the United Arab Emirates in 2019 was $ 2.94, a far cry from the €59 in Italy or € 136 in the USA. The value of the organic market in the United Arab Emirates is 27.9 million dollars (0.06% of global demand for organic products), in a country that can count on just 4.6 thousand hectares of land farmed using organic practices and 102 producers. However, forecasts put the United Arab Emirates in third place worldwide in terms of expected growth for organic products, with a mean annual sales rate of approximately 13% for the next 3 years.  And for Italy, the second largest exporter worldwide, whose sales of Italian organic agri-food products on the international markets reached almost 3 billion euros in 2021 (an 11% increase on the previous year and 156% increase compared to 2009), it is an opportunity to significantly broaden its range of action.