Fish is back on the tables of Italians who in the first nine months of 2021 spent 9% more than in the same period of the previous year, characterized by the difficulties of the first phase of the pandemic.
A leap sustained by purchases of fresh products which, with + 19.6%, are 20% higher than those of the pre-Covid period January-September 2019. This is highlighted by the latest ISMEA Report on domestic consumption that analyzed, among others, the trend of the fish sector, proving to be the most dynamic together with that of beverages. A large-scale recovery for fish consumption, because volumes are also growing by 16% and average prices by 4%.
As for the different categories of fish products, Ismea indicates that the cost of frozen food is stable, in line with the growth of 17.7% recorded in 2020 compared to the previous year. On the other hand, the sales of smoked fish, mainly salmon, for which spending continues to grow by 10.6% in 9 months, after having marked 11% more in 2020, are increasing significantly. fish with -3.6%, mainly represented by canned tuna, which after the exponential growth of 2020 with + 5.9%, are once again replaced by the fresh product. This is one of the signals contained in the report that indicate that the shopping cart is returning to old habits, but with a closer look at sustainability and health. It is no coincidence that fresh products in all sectors,in fact, they drive spending with an increase of 1.3%.