Pet supplies market remains steady

The value of sales in the Italian market for dog and cat food last year was 2.051 bn euros, equi­valent to growth of 3.8 per cent. These figures derive from the latest report of the Italian industry association Assalco and Zoomark International. The tonnage in 2017 was 573 940 t, corresponding to growth of 2.4 per cent. By contrast, the market for food for other pets declined in value terms by 6.1 per cent and in volume by 2.8 per cent. Sales of accessory products yielded around 72 mio euros, signifying a slight decline of 2 per cent. 
Strong growth was recorded in the hygiene segment, on the other hand, with growth of 15 per cent compared with 2016, while sales of toys, chew toys and pest treatments fell slightly. Cat litter sales showed a modest increase of 0.4 per cent compared with 2016 to 68 mio euros, although the tonnage exhibited a 1 per cent downturn.
According to estimates by Assalco and Zoomark International, the pet population of Italy numbers 60 mio. This figure is composed of 30 mio ornamental fish, nearly 13 mio cage birds, 7.5 mio cats, 7 mio dogs and 3 mio rodents and other small animals. Interest in keeping pets is growing in the over-65 age group in particular, with nearly half of all retired people now owning a pet, according to Assalco and Zoomark International. 51.6 per cent of survey respondents own a dog, while elderly cat owners account for 33.3 per cent.

Another figure demonstrates the strong interest shown by Italians in keeping pets: there are 50.3 pets on average per 100 inhabitants. This ratio puts the country in first place ahead of France (46.5), Poland (41), Spain (40.2), Germany (39.8) and the United Kingdom (30.3).