MANDURIA, Apulia — Italy’s top food, wine, and agriculture figures met in Apulia this weekend and drew up a recipe for growth, committing to invest in quality, back young producers, and cut bureaucracy to capitalise on Italy’s newly awarded UNESCO culinary heritage status.

The Forum della Cucina Italiana (Italian Food Forum), organised by veteran Italian journalist and television presenter Bruno Vespa with Italian export agency ICE and public affairs consultancy Comin & Partners and held 29 and 30 March at Masseria Li Reni in Manduria, Apulia, opened with a striking set of data. A Deloitte study put the global value of Italian cuisine at 251 billion euro, with 300 billion within reach if recent growth rates hold. Agri-food exports already hit a record 71 billion euro in 2025, up 5.2 percent on 2024, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said, with total Italian exports reaching 643 billion euro and a government target of 700 billion by end of 2027.