Fake Italian typical products sold for 63 billion

In 2023, foreign consumers purchased 63 billion euros worth of 'counterfeit' Italian products that do not originate in our country.

This means that the value of Italian food & beverage exports would more than double to 126 billion if added to the 62 billion of agri-food exports of true Made in Italy.

Lombardy is the Italian region most affected by the phenomenon of so-called Italian sounding, with a negative economic impact of 10,2 billion per year, followed by Veneto (10 billion) and Emilia-Romagna (9,9 billion).

The data from the research by The European House – Ambrosetti, carried out on the occasion of the forum 'The Roadmap of the future for food & beverage' in Bormio, also highlight how the imitation abroad of products of the territory has precluded almost 9 billion euros of cross-border sales for Piedmont (8,7), 5,5 billion for Campania, and 3,5 billion euros for Tuscany, which has seen its extra virgin olive oils and wines hit the hardest.

Trentino-Alto Adige (3,3 billion euros) is also more exposed than Puglia (impact of 2,8 billion) which suffers from the imitation of oil and agricultural products. Sicily (1,7 billion) is more affected than Friuli Venezia Giulia (1,6 billion euros) which suffers especially from the imitation of its hams.

The impact of Italian sounding on other Italian regions is estimated at 6,3 billion in 2023.