To support the first tenders foreseen by the Pnrr for agriculture, Intesa Sanpaolo makes available to small and medium-sized enterprises associated with Coldiretti a ceiling of 3 billion euro of funding. He expects it a deal signed today in Rome between the Bank and the farmers' association.
In detail, the institute "will identify the best solutions to facilitate access to public support initiatives, in particular to obtain the advance of non-repayable contributions and request signature commitments to enable the forwarding of the request for the advance of the contribution non-repayable to the Ministry - explains Intesa - Furthermore, where the public contribution does not cover the entire amount of the investment, the bank will support the companies with loans lasting up to 30 years and amounts up to 100% of the expenditure, even with subsidiary guarantee Ismea and Green of Sace”.
Agricultural financing and the scenario for the Italian agri-food sector
The agreement is part of a scenario that has become much more complex than in the past years since the outbreak of the war between Russia and Ukraine. As explained by Stefania Trenti, Intesa Sanpaolo Head of Industry Research Studies and Research, the most significant impact for agri-food companies is on energy prices, to which the supply chain is particularly exposed, directly and indirectly (think of the costs of logistics and those of energy-intensive materials).
"The upheavals that the war has brought have highlighted how producing food and not depending on foreign countries is a strategic issue of national security for a country like Italy which has yet to make up for the heavy production deficit in many important sectors - said the President of Coldiretti Ettore Prandini – From this point of view, the PNRR represents an opportunity to help achieve the goal of halving dependence on foreign countries by increasing production, yields and supporting technological innovation and supply chain synergies. But agriculture can also contribute to the promotion of alternative energy networks such as photovoltaics”.
Consumption in the balance between high bills and post-Covid reopening
Compared to other sectors, the agri-food sector will also have more difficulty in downloading the increase in costs downstream, because the staggering increases in energy bills weigh on household budgets, which therefore have less spending power. At the same time, however, the demand for agri-food products should be supported by post-pandemic reopening, which bring a recovery of social activities and tourism.
The strengths of Italian agri-food
On the other hand, Italian agri-food companies start from a position of strength: our country is in fact in fourth position in the world ranking in theexport of high-end products, with a market share of 5,3%. Not only that: in 2021 Italian agri-food exports exceeded 50 billion euros - explains Trenti - and the agri-food trade surplus it stood at 3,3 billion euros (compared, however, with an agricultural deficit of 8,5 billion).