AGRICULTURE HOLDS UP DESPITE THE CRISIS. COMPETITIVITY TARGET FOR 1.6 MILLION ITALIAN COMPANIES

 

Economic and agricultural policy analysis by the Fieragricola Office

 

Italian agriculture in 2011 maintained positive indicators as regards added value, employment and exports. A field worth 40 billion euros, in turn originating the entire Made in Italy agro-foods sector that covers an impressive 15% of Italy's GDP (the second production field after manufacturing) which in 2011 achieved an overall value of 250 billion euros (cumulative data for foodstuffs, agro-foods, distribution and services industry) with an historical export quota of about 30 billion euros. Sustainability and food safety are among the challenges in CAP reform.

 

2012 for Italian and European agriculture will be a complex year running at different speeds. Yet, at least at market level, it will not be an "annus terribilis". Rather, other factors will affect the international context: the growing volatility of prices for the main agricultural commodities, increased production costs (not only fuel), an economic-financial crisis within the scope of which, however, the real economy has more likelihood of finding the spark for a recovery.

Forecasts by the General Directorate of the FAO indicate a fall in prices for the most important commodities, albeit to a limited extent. A great deal will depend on "Factor A": the climate and environment trend that make agriculture a more vulnerable sector compared to other production segments. Yet it should not be forgotten that in 2011 agricultural price indicators, taking 2000 as the base line, more than doubled, settling between 180 (average prices for meat) and 240 for cereals.

Italian agriculture is characterised by structural weaknesses and is consequently even more vulnerable, yet it boasts a heritage of agro-food resources (over and above denominated products) undoubtedly capable of significantly re-launching the entire sector. The trend amplified as of 2005, whereby the quota of internal origin products on the total agricultural input used by the foodstuffs industry (-9% over the last 20 years, according to ISTAT analysis), must be turned around.

6^th census of Italian agriculture. The snapshot of the agriculture census indicates a structure with 1,630,420 agricultural and animal farming companies, of which 209,996 breeding livestock for sale; 17,277,023 hectares of total company area (12,885,186 hectares of utilised agricultural area); animal farming comprising 5.7 million cattle, 9.6 million pigs, 7.5 million sheep and goats, 195.4 million head of poultry.

The sector is very important in terms of dimensions and involves a wealth of enterprise, despite a certain deficit in competitiveness.

Sardinia and Lombardy are the regions with the highest average company dimensions (with utilised areas respectively of 19.2 hectares and 18.4 hectares) while Liguria (2.1 hectares), Puglia (4.7), Campania and Calabria (4) stand out in terms of minimum values.

The regional ranking for number of companies sees Puglia in pole position with 275 thousand agricultural companies, followed by Sicily (219 thousand), Calabria (138 thousand), Campania (137 thousand) and the Veneto (121 thousand).

These 5 regions are home to as much as 54.6% of Italian agricultural companies. Slightly more companies are now run by women, up from 30.4% in 2000 to 33.3% in 2010. There are also higher percentages of young people (under 30) in charge of companies (25% in 2010 against 18,2% in 2000), while the under 45s now account for 18.6%. The ISTAT census also analysed education levels: in 2010, more than 60% of agricultural operators had least obtained a lower middle school diploma (40% in 2000), while 5% have specialised agrarian studies (less than 3% in 2000).

Economic Data. Despite the crisis, Italian agriculture in 2011 maintained positive indicators for added value (+1.2%), number of employees (+6%, for a total of 1.1 million employees over 83% of the country) and exports (+3.4%).

The primary field is worth 40 billion euros, in turn originating the entire Made in Italy agro-foods sector that covers an impressive 15% of Italy's GDP (the second production field after manufacturing) which in 2011 achieved an overall value of 250 billion euros (cumulative data for foodstuffs, agro-foods, distribution and services industry) with an historical export quota of about 30 billion euros (+8.8% in November 2011 compared to the same month in 2010). (Sources: Ministry of Agriculture, ISTAT).

Comparison with other main European countries. France515,000 agricultural companies in France, 990,000 in Spain and 299,000 in Germany, with a utilised area of 27,090,000 hectares in France, 23,753,000 in Spain and 16,704,000 in Germany. There are 19,511,000 head of cattle in France, 5,841,000 in Spain and 12,535,000 in Germany.

Since 2003, there has been a downturn in the number of agricultural companies in all the main EU countries: -17% in Italy, -16% in France, -13% in Spain and -27% in Germany. Utilised area fell by 2% in Italy and Germany, 3% in France and 6% in Spain. The number of cattle fell by 4% in Italy, 2% in Spain and 8% in Germany. The figure remained stable in France.

On average over the last decade, Italy is the country where the agricultural sector is of most importance in terms of added value, although as of 2010 France became the country where it has the most economic relevance.

50 years of the Common Agricultural Policy. In the year celebrating 50 years of the Common Agricultural Policy, the objectives of the CAP (increase productivity; ensure a fair standard of living for the agricultural population; stabilise markets; warrant safety in food supplies; ensure reasonable prices for consumers) are still the same today as then. This does not mean that the CAP has failed - quite the opposite. Agriculture is one of the main aspects bonding the European Union.

The challenges in the future will be based on production and sustainability. The measures known as eco-conditionalities in post-2013 CAP reform presented last 12 October by the European Commissioner for Agriculture, Dacan Ciolos, will be accelerated: "greening" is a tool in an implementation plan for sustainable agriculture.

The objectives include continuing the trend towards reducing greenhouse gas that agriculture took as a direction as long ago as 1990. Agriculture, in short, will be increasingly synonymous of environmental sustainability but also of health and safety in primary products: food quality and food quantity combined.

 

Press release n° 2 - VeronaFiere Press Office

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