Official statistics from UN COMTRADE and data insights from I Love Fruit & Veg from Europe reveal that Canadian imports of Italian fruit and vegetables had reached a little over $28 million by the end of 2023, a 5.8% growth from 2022.

Launched in April 2021, the I Love Fruit & Veg from Europe initiative—supported by the producer organizations Agritalia, A.O.A., La Deliziosa, Meridia, Terra Orti and co-funded by the European Commission—has been fueling the increase of European fruit and vegetable exports. 

Manuela Barzan, the coordinator of the I Love Fruit & Veg from Europe Project, told Freshfruitportal.com that the project "aims to promote the purchase and consumption of quality European fresh fruit and vegetable products, also in their organic and PDO/PGI versions, to ensure a healthier, safer and more sustainable diet."

She says the countries the program targets and looks to highlight are Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Norway and Canada. 

Thanks partly to this effort, Italy's global fruit and vegetable exports have increased exponentially, reaching $6.06 billion in 2023, a $475 million increase from 2022. The country exported $4.08 billion worth of fruit (2.47 million tons) and $1.99 billion worth of vegetables (988,000 tons).

A strong EU performance saw fruit and vegetable exports rise from $51.96 billion in 2022 to $56.53 billion in 2023 (+8.6%), with Italy contributing $6.06 billion to this total.

The fruits and vegetables that are top of their promotion list are "prickly pears, table grapes, blood orange and other citrus fruits, pears, figs, melons, peaches, cherries, watermelon, pomegranate, apricots, spring onions, onions, radishes, peppers, tomatoes, asparagus, Jerusalem artichoke, artichoke,  basil, spinach, kohlrabi, green beans, and lettuce."

The initiative looks to highlight them with marketing strategies that are already planned ahead of time. " We have already organized a press event in Montreal and attended Sial 2024. We also organized a first educational tour to Italy in August 2024," Barzan said. We will organize a culinary workshop in Toronto on April 28, 2025, a second press event in Toronto on April 29, 2025, and a second educational tour to Italy at the end of February 2025."

She adds that the fruits that have gained the most traction currently are prickly pears, peppers, and tomatoes, but "imports have increased everywhere. "