Starting today and throughout tomorrow, the Piacenza Expo pavilions will host Dairy Expo Tech, the exhibition and conference dedicated to machinery and equipment for the production of milk and all dairy products, organized by Senaf. Companies in the sector, industry associations, institutions and academics will discuss the challenges and opportunities of a sector that represents the first agri-food chain in Italy. The sector is driven by exports, in particular that of cheese, with an expected value for the end of 2024 of over 5 billion euros, and positions Italy as the third country in the world behind Germany and the Netherlands (12.6% global share). These numbers also indicate that Italy is growing more than its direct competitors, with a 2018 – 2023 variation of +75.2%, compared to 53.5% for Germany and 52.3% for the Netherlands.

At a national level, cow's milk production, despite some fluctuations, is growing and is estimated to reach 13.1 million tons by the end of 2024, allowing Italy to get closer to self-sufficiency. Despite these encouraging signs, the sector is facing several challenges, mainly linked to the stagnation of domestic consumption. Of a value of food expenditure that amounts to 167.5 billion euros, 15% concerns milk, cheese and eggs, therefore exceeding 25 billion euros. These are the data presented by Nomisma on the occasion of the first conference of the day, the Dairy Summit, now in its sixth edition and entitled "The new life of milk: between consumption trends, product innovations and the Dop Igp ecosystem".

During the conference, highly topical issues were examined: first of all that of European policies, which found space in the round table "The CAP that I would like" which saw researchers such as Maria Teresa Pacchioli (Crpa of Reggio Emilia), politicians, such as Stefano Bonaccini (MEP), and representatives of the main Italian associations such as Ettore Prandini (president of Coldiretti), Alberto Statti (Confagricoltura), Cristiano Fini (Cia Agricoltori Italiani) and Giovanni Guarneri (president of the dairy sector of Confcooperative Fedagripesca), discuss a very relevant topic.

Other key issues for the sector, such as sustainability and product quality and safety, were addressed in subsequent speeches, such as the one dedicated to the differences between milk and “synthetic products” addressed by Pier Sandro Cocconcelli , Dean of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences and Professor of Agricultural Microbiology at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Piacenza, and the round table dedicated to the nutri-score, its adoption and its value for consumers.

The Dairy Expo Tech program will continue on the second day with the debut of the Dairy Tech Summit entitled “Digitalization, automation and sustainability: opportunities for the dairy industry”, a central event for the future of the dairy sector, which will focus on the importance of technology to improve sustainability and productivity. In particular, the summit will explore how innovations in digitalization and automation can optimize production processes, contributing to a more efficient and competitive dairy supply chain. Industry experts and academics will present the latest technological solutions capable of monitoring, automating and optimizing plants according to Industry 4.0 criteria, with a focus on the optimization of primary resources, such as electricity, heat and water.

The adoption of these technologies allows not only to reduce production costs, but also to improve product quality. Furthermore, the different automation solutions, from the simplest to the most advanced, that can respond to specific production needs will be explored, helping companies to make targeted strategic choices to increase the efficiency and sustainability of their plants. The Dairy Tech Summit is thus configured as a unique opportunity to discover how technology can play a fundamental role in making the dairy sector more sustainable, innovative and ready to face the challenges of the future.