Parma Alimentare is heading to Japan

Parma - A few days after Dubai's Gulfood, Parma Alimentare is already on the go again by showcasing the city's food industry in Japan at Foodex Japan, Asia's n.1 Professional Trade Show for Food and Beverages. The event, which will open in Tokyo on March 7 and run until March 10, has 3,250 exhibitors and 77,000 professional visitors, representing the world of horeca, food service and distribution. Parma Alimentare will be at Foodex Japan with four companies: Bonicomm, Fratelli Tanzi, Rizzoli Emanuelli and Tanara Giancarlo. Japan ranks 10th among the countries that show great appreciation for the Made-in Parma agrifood products: Parma totalled 40 million euros in food exports to Japan in 2015, which accounted for 2.7 percent of the sector's exports. Exports rose by 57 percent in the 2007-2015 period.

Among the most popular goods, mention is to be made of baked goods and farinaceous products (37 per cent), processed fruit and vegetables (13 percent), preserved meat (12 percent) and dairy products (9 percent). "Italian gastronomy started taking Japan literally by storm in the mid 90s: food exports to Japan have grown more than twofold," said Alessandra Foppiano, Executive Manager of Parma Alimentare. "The catering sector accounts for 70 percent of the value of exports to Japan, a fact that recognizes the excellence of the agrifood system of Parma and its territory, which can boast top-quality products that naturally address the horeca sector."

Japanese consumers show, more than others, great appreciation for local specialities and a traditional handicraft production. "From this point of view, Parma, with its local products that are driven by passion and an extraordinary competence, and for being the moral capital of the Italian Food Valley, has a competitive advantage, which has grown even stronger after Parma was appointed UNESCO's Creative City for gastronomy," concluded Ms Foppiano.