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Germany is a member of the European Union (EU) and generally follows EU directives and regulations, including those relating to the importation of food products.

Italy’s food processing industry consists of more than 55,000 enterprises that contributed $156.5 billion to the country’s gross domestic product in 2023.

Total Saudi wheat imports for 2025/26 are forecast to decline 10 percent to 3.2 million metric tons (MMT), due to projected high local production. Saudi barley imports for MY 2025/26 are projected to increase by 10 percent to 3.3 MMT compared to last MY.

On January 10, 2025, the German Federal Research Institute for Animal Health (FLI) confirmed a Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) case on a water buffalo farm in Brandenburg.

After organic sales declined in 2022, demand began to recover in 2023 and is estimated to continue to have grown moderately in 2024, largely due to decreasing inflation and increasing availability of low-cost store brands.

This report is intended to supplement the FAS U.S. Mission to the EU's Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards (FAIRS) report with Italy-specific information.

This report is intended to supplement the FAS U.S. Mission to the EU's Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards (FAIRS) Certificate report with Italy-specific information. The U.S. export certification requirements for most products of animal and plant origin destined for the EU and Italy have been harmonized.

This report provides an overview of Italy’s food service – hotel, restaurant, and institutional (HRI) sectors and outlines current market trends for food products. In 2023, Italy’s consumer food service sales were nearly $86 billion, up roughly nine percent from 2022.

The HRI sector is witnessing remarkable growth, fueled by urbanization, a surging population, rising disposable incomes, shifting social and cultural trends, and a thriving tourism industry. The Saudi food retail market, currently valued at $30 billion, is projected to grow by another $15 billion by 2030.

With more than 84 million of the world’s wealthiest consumers, Germany is the largest market for food and agricultural products in the European Union. The German market offers good opportunities for U.S. exporters of consumer-oriented food and...

The ongoing transformation of Saudi Arabia bodes well for the retail food sector. In 2023, the Saudi food retail market was estimated at more than $51 billion and projected to increase by more than 5 percent annually in the coming years due to the continued urbanization, growing population, changing shopping habits, expansion of physical store locations , and increasing popularity of online platforms.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) regulations allow the importation of biotech plant products, but they are required to be labeled if they contain more than one percent genetically engineered (GE) plant ingredients. As a result, many retail packaged food importers do not import biotech foods due to concerns that biotech labeling could jeopardize their image.