The organic market in Italy was up 12 percent in 2014, and is valued at 2.5 billion euros. Sales are growing fastest in the south (up 30 percent). Research commissioned by AssoBio and presented at Expo Milano 2015 showed that 18.4 million families in Italy buy organic products at least once every three months. A closer look reveals that 12 million families buy an organic product every three months, 3.2 million buy monthly, and 3.2 buy more frequently than once per month. Women, especially those aged 25-44 and 55-64, are leading organic consumers. Top categories include: Eggs, fruit jams and spreads, crispy bread, almond drinks, rice, whole wheat pasta and pasta made from spelt/emmer.