Roberto Pinton, representative of FederBio – Organic production a chance for success

(Roberto Pinton) The organic production market in Italy is growing constantly, and its value is estimated at around EUR 1.45 billion. The country has more than 45,000 organic farmers. Organic farms are located predominantly in southern Italy, whereas distributors and importers are located mostly in the north. The areas under organic systems take up around 1,052,002 hectares.

More than a third of the total Italian organic production is exported, mostly to other European countries, but also to the USA and Japan. Among the products exported are fruit and vegetables, virgin olive oil, wine, cheeses, pasta...

– Organic production makes up 10% of the total agricultural production in Italy now. Our goal is to reach 20%. However, I believe that we can go much further than that.

eKapija: What is your opinion on the organic products market in Europe?

– The organic products market in Europe is constantly growing. Organic production in Europe currently takes up 12 million hectares, and the EU market has reached the amount of EUR 26 billion, and in Germany it has increased to EUR 8 billion. Germany has become a specialized market, where discount stores and hypermarkets largely sell organic products. In France, organic production amounts to EUR 15 billion. There is a total of 268,000 organic farms in Europe.

Outside of Europe, there's a 70% increase in Japan, a significant growth in China and in many other countries as well.

eKapija: Where is Italy's place in all this? How important is organic production to Italy?

– Organic agriculture currently takes up 1,380,000 hectares in Italy, which is an increase by 6.8% relative to last year. We also have 6,100 processing companies and a large number of companies which deal in distribution and sale. There are also numerous farms and small agricultural holdings which are active in the tourism industry as well, more precisely, the rural tourism.

So, of 200,000 of those employed in organic production, 6,520 are in Italy, so we can say that the sector also employs a significant number of workers as well. There are also relevant unions, so the status of an agricultural producer is in line with all the European standards.

Around 60% of farmers in Italy are under 50 years of age and there are over 25% of enterprises run by women. Around 10% of agricultural producers have graduated from universities.

eKapija: An opinion is often heard that organic food is meant for those with deep pockets only, as it is more expensive. Has this unwritten rule proven to be true in your country? Who are the main consumers of organic products?

– Italy is probably the only country in Europe where organic products are the best selling ones, even though they are more expensive by 20% than those produced in a conventional manner. To take marmalades and jams as an example, over 20% of the sales is made up of organic marmalades. The consumers are mostly women between 25 and 44 years of age, with a child, with two-year college degrees and university degrees and they are the ones who pick organic products.

What I would like to suggest is for organic products to be used in school canteens. It's common practice in our country because it was introduced at the initiative of the citizens themselves. The mayors received over 2 million letters asking for organic food to be introduced.

eKapija: If organic food ends up in school canteens and possibly some other systems, the market will become much larger. How have organic producers benefited from cooperating with schools?

– Cooperation with schools is a good business model, as it can easily be calculated how much a single child can eat. If a child eats a 120g apple, that means that 25 children will eat three kilograms, and that the number will end up being very large, which is one way of guaranteeing the existence of a market for quality products, which are at the same time healthy, that is, they serve to maintain one's health.

(Photo: Twin Design/shutterstock.com)

eKapija: What are the projections for the organic production market in Italy in the period to come?

– The sale of organic products in Italy currently amounts to around 3% of the total consumption. In the first three months, the sale of organic products increased by 19.9%, and since 2008, when the economic crisis began, the sale of organic products has been growing at an increased pace, contrary to the expectations. The export amounted to around EUR 1.4 million in the first three months. Also, the export of agricultural products in the EU has since then increased by 82%, as has the export of drinks, pasta, meat and wine.

In Italy, 77% of producers believe that the sales will grow in the next three years, both globally and in Europe.

eKapija: You were here in Serbia when the Novi Sad Agricultural Fair was being held. You met some of your Serbian colleagues there. How can Italian experiences help us?

– The EU regulation from 2007 says that organic production is a method which secures the market but also a sustainable development. The products are good for the environment and guarantee the integrity of the supply chain in terms of reliability and a good price-quality relationship. We are ready to give all the support necessary to Serbian institutional organizations in order for the Serbian organic production sector to be organized in the best way possible and to be ready to successfully participate in the EU market. The demand is great and large amounts of grains, rice and soy can be sold immediately, as there's a great need for those products in the market.

We aren't capable of meeting all the demands of the market, as the producers have small parcels, around two hectares each. The producers need to get larger areas and to use mechanization. If there's a well organized product exposure, you can only benefit from it.

eKapija: What advice would you give to Serbian farmers regarding Serbia's EU accession process?

– When you become a part of the EU, you will have to forget about conventional farming, because no relevant store chain wishes to offer products which contain chemicals. Even if you're not running an organic farm, you're not allowed to use pesticides in conventional production either, so the manner of growing certain cultures certainly needs to be changed.

If you wish to have a better position and an advantage over the competition, you need to have higher standards of production. For example, I'm not sure if the water used for irrigating gardens is being checked. In Italy, such controls are being carried out once a year in order to determine the level of pesticides in the water.

The environment is endangered. If you want to produce books, you can print them, but you can't produce soil. You need to take care of the soil, as its quality is the only thing that guarantees the quality of food in the future.

eKapija: Serbia can learn from Italy, and who does Italy learn from or could learn from?

– The biggest organic production market in Europe is in Germany, but that's also the biggest consumer market. We produce the most, but we also export a lot. Therefore, we can learn from Germany how to develop the local market. They knew how to lobby the government, they have the Green Party in the parliament, which means that they know how to pass good laws in the filed of organic production. We can, for example, learn from France about the cooperation between industrial organization and the competent authorities.

ICE-Italijanska agencija za spoljnu trgovinu Beograd

FederBio

Roberto Pinton

organic food

organic agriculture

organic products