The commercial importance of the Gulf States is not just historic and strategic, as confirmed by the most recent findings of ExportPlanning. It highlights the way in which the countries that form the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are part of the small group of markets that display the highest growth potential.

Indeed an examination of the sectors that represent HostMilano reveals that bilateral trade flows between Europe and the GCC reached nearly 840 million euros in 2021, a figure which forecasts suggest will rise to 1.1 billion euros in 2025 (an average annual growth of +6.2%) .

The United Arab Emirates are the most relevant area in terms of trade with Europe (350 million euros in 2021, rising to 456 million euros in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate, or CAGR, of +6.8%). They are followed by Saudi Arabia (254 million euros in 2021, and expected to grow to as high as 342 million euros in 2025 with CAGR of +7.8%), Qatar (119 million euros in 2021; 134 million euros forecast for 2025 with a CAGR of +3%) and Kuwait (92 million euros in 2021; 110 million euros in 2025 and a CAGR of +4.8%).

Made in Italy: what and how much Italy exports

There is good news also for the Made in Italy sector. Bilateral trade flows between Italy and the Gulf Cooperation countries are also recording positive figures: here, the value of traded products in sectors covered by HostMilano stood at nearly 277 million euros, with forecasts predicting that this will rise to 310 million euros in 2025, and a CAGR of +2.8%.

Italian exports of HostMilano products to the GCC – which undoubtedly account for the largest portion of total trade – recorded significant growth between 2011 and 2015, reaching an all-time high of 329 million euros, while in more recent years trends in Italian exports were less positive. A return to growth is however expected between 2022 and 2025.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are the most relevant markets in the area, with 109 million euros and 98 million euros worth of goods exported there from Italy in 2021 respectively in the areas of interest to HostMilano. Here, Saudi Arabia in particular is the leading importer of goods from Italy in Foodservice Equipment (61.6 million euros in 2021), Coffee-making Machinery/Vending Machines (30.6 million euros) and Bakery & Pastry (8.3 million euros), and third in the Tableware segment (8.2 million euros).

The United Arab Emirates ranked top in terms of Italian exports in 2021 for Tableware (11 million euros) and second in Professional Foodservice (58.5 million euros, with 64.6 million euros forecast for 2025), Coffee-making Machinery/Vending Machines (21.4 million euros and 26 million euros forecast for 2025) and Bread-making and Pastry Machinery (6.5 million euros).