Our Love for Pistachios

The TUTTOFOOD trade fair is currently taking place in MILAN (from May 5 to 8, 2025). We were struck by the presence of many pistachio producers from Turkey.

Pistachios are a major trend these days. Salted pistachios for snacking, shelled, in sweet spreads, inside and on top of croissants, brioches, panettoni, cookies. And of course, pistachio is a must-have flavor in gelato shops. It can also be found in many other food products, such as mortadella or pistachio salami, or in gourmet pralines and sauces used by many Michelin-starred chefs.

The most renowned and heavily advertised pistachio is the one from Bronte (CT) in Sicily, famous worldwide for its quality. So why, then, is there such a significant presence of Turkish pistachios at TUTTOFOOD? We tried to understand more.

A study promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forests (MASAF), and carried out by the Institute of Services for the Agri-food Market (ISMEA), showed that in 2023 (the latest data currently available), Italy produced 4,124.2 tonnes of in-shell pistachios over a reported production area of 3,957 hectares. This data is available on the website www.ismeamercati.it (click here to read the page).

Italian production is practically concentrated in Sicily, with most of it coming from Bronte. Speaking to professionals in pastry, gelato, and restaurant sectors, it seems everyone uses pistachios from Bronte! Rightly considered the best, it's hard to believe, however, that it all comes from Bronte. In fact, there is a production specification established by the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, see the page on eur-lex.europa.eu (click here to view the page), that specify a slightly larger production area, encompassing the neighboring municipalities of Adrano and Biancavilla, also in the Province of Catania. But is this enough to support a large-scale production of the renowned pistachio?

On a page of www.testveritas.com (click here for the page) we read that the estimated global pistachio production in 2020/2021 was about 1 million tonnes. A quick calculation shows that pistachio production in Italy (and therefore from Bronte and neighboring towns) accounts for around 0.4% of global production, placing Italy 19th among pistachio-producing countries.

Looking more closely, the main pistachio producers are as follows:

• United States: the world's largest producer of pistachios, accounting for about 42% of global production. California is the top producing state, contributing 99% of U.S. output, with other states playing only a marginal role.
• Turkey: the second largest pistachio producer in the world, with about 26% of global production.
• Iran: another major producer, accounting for about 17% of global output.
• Other producers: China and Syria are also among the pistachio-producing countries, with production shares of around 7% and 6%, respectively.

As mentioned, in Italy pistachios are a real craze, but the phenomenon is much bigger than that. In fact, there is even a World Pistachio Day, celebrated on February 26!

So it's only fair that people ask, as stated on www.ilpost.it: “How can there be so many Bronte pistachios?” (click here to read the page).