Summary of the presentation "Berries: stable acreage in Italy, rising market. Analysis of a high value-added sector" by Tomas Bosi (CSO Italy), as part of the Berry Area 2026 programme (Macfrut, Rimini).
The Italian berry sector is at a crucial turning point, suspended between a natural production stabilisation in its historic growing areas and an unprecedented surge in domestic demand.
The updated analysis presented by CSO Italy portrays a sector that, after years of continuous acreage expansion, is now entering a phase of consolidation, while still maintaining significant untapped potential.
Understanding these dynamics is strategic for supply chain operators: the gap between agricultural production constrained by rising costs and labour limitations, and domestic consumption growing at double-digit rates, is opening up new commercial opportunities.
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This imbalance calls for urgent reflection on how to optimise varietal innovation, rebalance the production geography and manage international supply chains more efficiently.
Key takeaways
1. Italian acreage is entering a consolidation phase.
Acreage dedicated to berries in Italy stands at around 2,833 hectares in 2025, down 2% compared with the previous year. However, the overall balance remains structurally positive, with a 30% increase compared with 2019.
2. The North is slowing down, while the South is accelerating.
The production geography shows a clear shift: the North is slowing its expansion due to high planting costs and the difficulty of finding labour, while the South, led by Sicily and Calabria, is recording rapidly growing investments.
3. Domestic demand is no longer occasional.
Berries are becoming everyday products. Household penetration has reached 40% and retail sales are expected to reach 32,000 tonnes in 2025, with a 43% increase in volume.
4. Consumption is also growing among under-35s.
The category is expanding into demographic groups that are less typical for traditional fresh produce, with strong acceleration in purchases among younger consumers, supported by fixed-weight punnets in modern retail and expansion in discount stores.
5. Imports are becoming structural.
Imported volumes have doubled in five years, exceeding 24,000 tonnes in 2025. Spain dominates spring supply, while Chile and Peru guarantee increasingly significant shares during the counter-season.
What emerges from the presentation
The evolution of the Italian berry supply chain reveals a highly dynamic sector, now being measured against new operational constraints.
The data processed by CSO Italy outline a scenario in which, against a backdrop of sharply rising domestic consumption, the national production base is showing the first signs of stabilisation.
With around 2,833 hectares estimated for 2025, Italy records a slight decline of 2% compared with the previous year. However, the comparison with 2019 remains strongly positive, with a structural increase of 30%.
A sector that is growing, but not evenly
The national figure does not indicate a production crisis, but rather a more selective phase of maturity.
After years of continuous expansion, acreage is stabilising in historic growing areas, while new investments are shifting towards more dynamic production zones, especially in Southern Italy.
The new production geography: North slowing down, South accelerating
The agricultural geography of berries is undergoing a clear transformation.
Northern regions, which account for around 75% of national acreage under the leadership of Piedmont, are slowing their pace of expansion.
This slowdown is linked to several factors: climate vulnerability, high initial planting costs and increasing difficulty in finding labour for harvesting operations that are still hard to mechanise.
By contrast, Southern Italy is experiencing a phase of strong territorial expansion. New development programmes in Sicily and Calabria point to a possible rebalancing of the production map in the coming years.
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Blueberries remain the engine of the category
Within the national production landscape, blueberries remain the undisputed engine of the category.
This crop accounts for almost 70% of total hectares dedicated to berries, confirming the central role it has taken on in agricultural investments in recent years.
Raspberries follow at a distance, while the other species maintain a more limited weight in the national landscape.
The strategic importance of organic production is also confirmed: with almost 600 hectares, organic accounts for around 21% of national acreage, reinforcing the supply chain’s positioning towards high value-added segments.
| Indicator | Key figure | Implication for the supply chain |
|---|---|---|
| National acreage | 2,833 hectares in 2025. | The sector is entering a consolidation phase after years of expansion. |
| Change vs. 2024 | -2%. | Operational constraints related to costs, climate and labour are emerging. |
| Change vs. 2019 | +30%. | Structural growth remains significant over the medium term. |
| Blueberries | Almost 70% of total hectares. | They are the leading crop in investment and category strategy. |
| Organic | Almost 600 hectares, equal to 21% of national acreage. | This confirms the high value-added positioning of the supply chain. |
Domestic demand changes scale
The real transformative element emerges on the demand side.
Berries have definitively moved beyond the status of a niche product or occasional purchase. With household penetration rising to 40%, the category is now firmly entering the consumption habits of a growing share of Italian households.
Retail sales are expected to reach 32,000 tonnes in 2025, with a 43% increase in volume. This acceleration confirms the transformation of berries into increasingly ordinary products in everyday shopping.
Particularly relevant for operators is the widening of the consumer base. Growth in purchases among under-35s represents a significant exception compared with the gradual ageing of the typical target for traditional fresh produce.
Modern retail and discount stores drive the democratisation of berries
Consumption growth is being strongly supported by modern retail channels.
Fixed-weight punnets in modern retail have made berries more accessible, easier to understand and easier to integrate into regular shopping baskets.
This is complemented by recent expansion in discount channels, which is further broadening the consumer base by reaching more price-sensitive shoppers who are now accustomed to seeing berries in the assortment.
Consumption becomes everyday
The key shift is not only the increase in volumes, but the change in perception: berries are no longer a special or occasional product.
Fixed formats, broader distribution and presence in discount stores are turning the category into an increasingly regular component of Italian food shopping.
Imports growing strongly: an increasingly structural dependence
Strong domestic demand is clashing with the limits of national supply.
Italian exports remain anchored to marginal volumes, below 5,000 tonnes, while imports have grown very rapidly.
Inbound flows have doubled in volume and tripled in value over the past five years, exceeding 24,000 tonnes per year in 2025.
Dependence on foreign supply does not concern only one specific period of the calendar. Spain dominates late-spring supply, while Chile and Peru guarantee increasingly broad shares during the counter-season.
This pattern highlights a chronic dependence on imports to sustain supply continuity and meet domestic demand that is now much larger than national production capacity.
Varietal innovation and agronomic adaptation as priorities
To capitalise on the margins of a growing market without being progressively absorbed by it, the Italian supply chain needs to invest in a more targeted way.
Varietal innovation becomes a fundamental lever to improve productivity, quality, harvest calendar, climate adaptability and the economic sustainability of plantations.
At the same time, better agronomic adaptation to different production areas is needed, particularly in the new development zones of Southern Italy, where the potential is high but requires technical expertise, varietal models and coherent infrastructure.
In summary
The Italian berry market is entering a new phase of maturity. Agricultural acreage is consolidating, but consumption is accelerating strongly, creating a clear imbalance between national production and domestic demand.
The North maintains its role as the main production area, but is showing signs of slowdown. The South, led by Sicily and Calabria, is instead positioning itself as a new growth area, especially if it can successfully enhance varietal innovation and agronomic adaptation.
The challenge for the coming years will be to reduce structural dependence on imports and turn consumption growth into value for the Italian supply chain, without losing competitiveness against major international suppliers.
