ExportPlanning data set out the situation regarding refrigeration appliances in Italy, in a situation in which foreign trade (imports + exports) reached a value in excess of 2.7 billion euros in 2022, 85% of which was accounted for by exports.

Of the 15% imported (worth 393.7 million euros in 2022, and expected to rise to 481.7 million euros in 2026 with a CAGR of 5.2%), the largest Italian import segments in the HOSTGelato* sector were those for materials, machinery and equipment for refrigerating systems, with a value of approximately 196 million euros in 2022, expected to rise to 232 million euros in 2026, and refrigerated display cases and counters with cooling unit or evaporator (136 million euros in 2022, expected to rise by an average annual rate of 6.2% by 2026).

China is the biggest exporter of products to Italy in the sectors considered, selling nearly 112 million euros worth of products in 2022 (some 64 million of which accounted for by the segment of refrigerated display cases and counters with cooling unit or evaporator). For 2026 imports are expected to rise with a CAGR of +6.4%, totalling more than 143 million euros. The second largest exporter of goods to Italy, some way behind China is Turkey, with sales totalling 48.4 million euros in 2022, also predominantly in the segment of refrigerated display cases and counters with cooling unit or evaporator (38.1 million euros). For 2026 a CAGR of +4.5% is expected, reaching around 58 million euros.

Italy’s other main trading partners from which it imported goods in 2022 were Germany (40.7 million euros, reaching 44.2 million in 2026), Ireland (30 million euros, reaching 35.3 million in 2026), Austria (22 million euros) and Belgium (20.4 million euros, reaching 24.4 million in 2026), all once again predominantly importing refrigerated display cases and counters with cooling unit or evaporator.

Italian imports of amounts exceeding 10 million euros also came from France, Bulgaria, Netherlands, Poland and Romania.

(*) the sectors analysed, in relation to customs classification, include cabinet-style fridge-freezer units, refrigerated display cases and counters with cooling unit or evaporator, for the storage of frozen foods, refrigerated display cases and counters with cooling unit or evaporator (excluding those for storing frozen foods), refrigerated cabinets with cooling unit or evaporator (excluding combined fridge-freezers with separate or combined external doors or drawers, domestic refrigerators, refrigerated display cases and counters) and materials, machinery and equipment for refrigerating systems (excluding units equipped for refrigeration)