Food System

#DopEconomy, ISMEA report – Qualivita 2020

December 13, 2020

Italy’s #DopEconomy confirmed solidity and upward trend, in 2019. The beautiful country retains the lead, with 27 percent of Geographical Indications (GIs) registered at the planetary level (839 out of 3,123). And exports are also doing well. The 18th Ismea-Qualivita 2020 Report, with our brief notes. (1)

Table of Contents

#DopEconomy, the 2019 data.

The 2019 data on the #DopEconomy highlights the primary value of PDO, PGI, TSG, DOC, DOCG certified food and wine production. 16.9 billion euros, +4.2% over 2018, which had already registered +6% over 2017. Completing a decade of uninterrupted growth.

The contribution of this sector to the total turnover of Italian agribusiness is 19 percent. High-caliber jewelry in the collection of traditional Made in Italy drives its economy. But new PDO and PGI supply chains are also starting to grind, with half a billion in production value for those in the food sector alone (excluding wines) recorded from 2010 onward.

Export driven by wines

Italian GIs’ exports reached 9.5 billion euros (+5.1 percent) in 2019, accounting for 21 percent of total agribusiness exports. Feeding it are more than 180,000 operators and 285 protection consortia.

The largest contribution comes from the wine sector, worth 5.6 billion euros. Prominent, however, is the growth of PDO and PGI foods, up 7.2 percent to 3.8 billion euros.

Top-rated PDO and PGI foods

Italian PDO, PGI, STG foods reached 7.7 billion euros in production value in 2019 (+5.7 percent). Consumer value, at 15.3 billion euros (+6.3 percent), and exports, as seen, also did well. The main markets remain Germany (€ 786 m), the US (€ 711 m), France (€ 525 m) and the UK (€ 273 m).

The ranking is led by the historical giants. Grana Padano, Parmigiano Reggiano, Prosciutto di Parma, Mozzarella di Bufala Campana, Balsamic Vinegar of Modena IGP. But other categories are also taking off, such as PGI pasta and several PDO and PGI products in pastry and bakery.

Italian cheeses

The most important growth in 2019 was in PDO and PGI cheeses. While production tended to be stable (549 thousand tons, +1%), production values increased (€ 4.5 billion, +10%) and so did domestic consumption (€ 7.5 billion, +5%) and exports (€ 2 billion, +13%).

Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy concentrate more than two-thirds of the value to production, with 1.6 and 1.5 billion euros, respectively. Campania follows, with 406 million euros and a 9 percent contribution in the PDO and PGI cheese segment. The top five supply chains – with a total value of 4.1 billion euros – are Grana Padano, Parmigiano Reggiano, Mozzarella di Bufala Campana, Gorgonzola and Pecorino Romano DOP.

Meat products

Meat products recorded a decline in value at production, in 2019 (-4.7 percent, 1.9 billion euros). On the consumer side, on the other hand, there was growth (+3.5 percent, €5 billion), expressing industrial weakness in relations with domestic retail. In exports the opportunity for redemption, for the processing industry at least (+5.6 percent, €600 million).

More than half of the value of the entire category (more than 1 billion euros) is concentrated in Emilia-Romagna. Friuli-Venezia Giulia (315 mln) and Lombardy (305 mln) follow. The top five supply chains, by production value, are Prosciutto di Parma and San Daniele PDO, Mortadella Bologna, Bresaola della Valtellina, and Speck Alto Adige PGI (€1.7 billion combined).

Balsamic vinegar export superstar

PDO and PGI balsamic vinegar returns to growth. Third in value, among foods with GIs, it is worth 389 million euros at production and 982 at consumption, with identical growth rate (+5.6 percent).

Ninety-two percent of Italian balsamic vinegar goes to exports, worth 891 million euros. Nearly a quarter of total exports of Italian PDO and PGI agribusiness. One of the great assets of the provinces of Modena and Reggio nell’Emilia. Leading the way is Aceto Balsamico di Modena IGP, followed by Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena DOP and Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Reggio Emilia DOP.

PDO and PGI fruits and vegetables

PDO and PGI fruit and vegetables are close to 900 million euros for consumption (894 mln, +27%) and 318 million euros for production (+2.1%). Changes in the data are heavily influenced by the alpine apple sector (between weather problems in 2018 and consumer price recovery in 2019). The decline in exports to 134 million euros in 2019 (-40 percent) is also mostly affected by European competitive dynamics within the industry.

Among the other GI s in the category, the PDO PGI production value of citrus (+34 percent), tomatoes (+28 percent), cereals and legumes (+14 percent), and vegetables (+7 percent) did well. Trentino-South Tyrol realized about 140 million euros in production. This is followed by Sicily and Piedmont with 43 million euros and 33 million euros. The three regions account for about 68 percent of the economic value of the category.

Drop in production and value for extra virgin olive oil

The collapse in production in the 2018/2019 oil campaign also affected the production of PDO and PGI extra virgin olive oils (11 thousand tons, -11 percent). Production value fell to 82 million euros (-4.6 percent), with additional decline in consumer value (-7.4 percent, 134 million euros consumer). The ‘price drug’ continues to dominate purchasing choices. The decline in exports-which affect as much as 39 percent of certified production-followed that of production (-11 percent, 56 million euros).

Tuscany, Apulia and Sicily concentrate almost three-quarters of the total value of certified oils, with respective production values of € 25, 20 and 16 million (2019). The top five supply chains by production value are Toscano IGP, Terra di Bari DOP, Val di Mazara DOP, Riviera Ligure DOP, and Sicilia IGP (59 million euros in total). In the national scenario, regional PGIs are growing, with an increase in production of existing ones and the introduction of new registrations (Olio di Puglia PGI in 2019 and Olio Lucano PGI in 2020).

PDO and PGI fresh meats, target 100 mln in value

PDO and PGI fresh meats remained stable, in 2019. 14 thousand tons of certified production (+1.4%), 92 mln euros in production (+0.9%), 196 mln euros in consumption (+0.8%). Exports account for 10 percent of production and are worth 10 mln euros (-2.9 percent).

More than half of the total value of the category is concentrated in Sardinia and Tuscany, with 29 and 18 million euros, respectively. In order of value are Vitellone Bianco dell’Appennino Centrale IGP, Agnello di Sardegna IGP, Abbacchio Romano IGP, Agnello del Centro Italia IGP and Cinta Senese DOP.

PDO and PGI to drink

With 526 PDOs and PGIs, DOCs and DOCGs, Italian wine certified for origin reached a record value of 9.2 billion euros in 2019. Of this, 7.6 billion is accounted for by PDO wines, which hold an economic weight of 82 percent of GI wine.

Exports reach 5.6 billion euros (+4%) out of a total of 6.4 billion euros (+3%) of Italian wine exports as a whole.

The geography of the #DopEconomy.

Driving the Italian #DopEconomy is the North. Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy and Piedmont concentrate 65 percent of the production value of Geographical Indication supply chains. Overall, 17 regions contribute, with varying intensities, to the growth of the industry.

In the PDO PGI wine sector, Veneto is confirmed as the undisputed leader with 53 certified wines that generate a total production value of 3.5 billion euros ( ex-factory value of bottled wine), equal to 38 percent to the total value of the sector. This is followed by Tuscany and Piedmont with 50 certified productions, for a production turnover close to 1 billion euros.

Brief notes on PDO, PGI and Covid-19

Covid-19 will also inevitably affect production and sales of Geographical Indications (GIs) products. Barriers to exports in the first few months of lockdown, widespread closures of restaurants and venues across Europe, and a slump in tourism will inevitably leave their mark. Without losing sight of the reduced spending capacity of Italian and European citizens as a result of the crisis.

Some PDO and PGI productions, moreover, received immediate support, thanks to emergency measures adopted by the European Commission and various government measures, which also included generous public purchases (2,3).

To elaborate on the impact of the new coronavirus on the Italian food supply chain, and the prospects for revitalization, please refer to theebook ‘Covid-19, the ABCs. Volume II – Society‘, at https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/covid-19-abc-volume-ii-società

Marta Strinati and Dario Dongo

Notes

(1) Ismea-Qualivita 2020 Report on Italian PDO PGI TSG food and wine production. https://www.qualivita.it/rapporto-ismea-qualivita-2020/
(2) MiPAAF Decree 8.5.20. Supplement to the decree for the allocation of the “Fund for the financing of national programs for the distribution of food to the needy” for the year 2020. (20A02536). Official Gazette General Series 14.5.20, no. 123
(3) Other measures have been taken at the regional level to encourage food procurement from short supply chains. See e.g. Lazio region, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/ristorazione/bando-bonus-lazio-km-0-incentivi-ai-ristoratori-sugli-alimenti-tipici-locali

Marta Strinati

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Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".