The Italian Trade Delegation is an Italian governmental organization that promotes and encourages the entry of Italian companies into Israel. This year, as part of Italian Food Week, the delegation decided to focus on the topic of cheeses for various reasons, with the main one being the growth of the category in the past two years (2021-2022), during which there was a cumulative increase of 56% in the import of specialty cheeses from Italy to Israel.
Furthermore, recently there have been initiatives to ease the import of hard cheeses from Europe to Israel, either with reduced tariffs or without tariffs, which enables both an increase in imports and a greater variety of cheeses.
According to the delegation, there is a significant number of Italian cheeses with unique characteristics that are marketed in Israel and are less known to the Israeli consumer, who is a fan of Italian cuisine. Therefore, there is importance in exposing these cheeses to the general public, explaining their different characteristics, matching them with various types of dishes, and demonstrating how to use them.
Under the auspices of the Italian chef
These days, in order to promote the exposure of cheeses to the Israeli public, a delegation of Italian trade in cooperation with the winner of "MasterChef", the Italian chef Massimiliano Di Matteo, will conduct an exclusive cheese workshop in the "Agata" delicatessen in Tel Aviv, which imports and markets the largest variety of Italian cheeses.
According to Giuseppe Russo, head of the Italian trade delegation in Israel: "Italian Cuisine Week worldwide, held this year under the theme "An Italian Meal: Health with Taste", solidifies its position as one of the important events worldwide to promote Italian excellence.
"Since forever, commercial and cultural relations among nations have served as a way to prevent conflicts, as well as an effective tool to promote dialogue and cooperation between peoples. Therefore, despite the difficult period Israel is going through, it was important for us to hold the event in the hope that good food, cooking, and "togetherness" can symbolize our modest contribution to a progressive return to normalcy".
$279 million per year on food from Italy
On the occasion of Italian Food Week, the Italian trade delegation gathered data from the Central Bureau of Statistics, showing that the import of food and beverages from Italy has steadily increased. In the past five years, food imports from Italy have accumulated by 60%, reaching a value of $279 million in 2022.
Even when looking at the import data of the first nine months of 2023, food imports from Italy increased by 5.8% compared to the same period last year. Among the products imported in significant quantities from Italy, one can find bakery products and cookies, pasta, coffee, bottled mineral water, and chocolate, alongside cheeses, tomato preserves and sauces, and wines, which even if imported in smaller quantities, still maintain their place and even register an increase.