Exports are increasingly important for Italian agri-food companies, which between 2007 and 2014 saw the share of their turnover linked to exports grow from 27 to 36 percent. This is what emerges from the "Certification and quality in the agri-food chain" Observatory created by Accredia, the single Italian accreditation body, in collaboration with Censis. The survey involved about a thousand certified companies.
The study also shows that Italy is in first place in Europe for DOP and IGP certificates, with 273 food products and 603 wines, and that the large-scale distribution, which markets 65% of the agri-food product in Italy, imposes certifications on the entire supply chain process to guarantee safety and traceability.
For the companies interviewed, on average the certified product accounted for more than 70% of turnover, exceeding 80% for about half of the companies in possession of Organic or DOP-IGP certification. Furthermore, for 84% of the companies questioned, the certification possessed made it possible to improve the corporate reputation and to enhance the products, for 80% it allowed to increase product safety and controls, for 62% to relate better with customers and for 58% to increase turnover.
36,7% of the certified companies declared that they managed to grow during the crisis and 45,3% confirmed that they remained substantially stable. For the second half of 2015, 20,7% expect a growing turnover and 65,7% substantially stable, while for the next three years the share of optimists rises even to 41,6% and that of those expecting substantial stability passes to 40,8%.
39% of the certified companies interviewed that have their own website use it to sell their products and about 80% of all the companies interviewed distribute them directly to the final consumer. Finally, 73,4% belong to brand protection consortia, 32,8% to producer organisations, 16,5% to cooperatives and 10,8% to business networks, denoting a strong propensity to 'associations.
