Even exports, a key sector to which our economy clings to in order to return to growth, will have its general conditions. It is to announce it Gian Domenico Auricchio, managing director of the homonymous food group and president of Assocamerestero, the association of the 78 Italian chambers of commerce abroad which will meet from 22 to 25 October in Riva del Garda: “In a phase like this, it is essential to have a chamber network for discussions. We are engaging in a timid recovery, which however is thanks to exports, which have allowed companies, in years of stagnant internal consumption, to grow or at least limit the damage”.
This is the state of the art: limiting the damage but also growing, even more than other European competitors such as Germany. In July, on an annual basis, the data show a slight drop in our sales abroad (-0,7%), but the second quarter recorded an improvement compared to the first (+0,7%), above all thanks to a rediscovered verve of the EU market to the detriment of the emerging ones: “Exports – explains Auricchio – are going through a phase of physiological adjustment, 2016 will be less brilliant for many factors, above all because after a long period of growth a small decline is normal”.
The good news is precisely the recovery of the European market: in the first seven months of 2016, according to seasonally adjusted data, exports to EU28 countries amounted to a value of 134,7 billion euros, which on an annual basis means an increase of 2,1%. More than half of Italian goods are therefore exported within the continent, above all to Germany (with a 12,3% share of total exports and a value in the first seven months of the year of 31,3 billion euros) , which in turn marks a strong setback in exports. “However, it must be said – explains Auricchio, fourth generation of the family business founded in 1877 and leader in the agri-food sector – that Germany has had a country system for some time, while we are only now gearing up. This is why the appointment in Riva del Garda is important, as are the moves of the Minister of Economic Development, Carlo Calenda”.
"Calenda - continues the president of Assocamerestero - is acting on three fronts: more resources, which is something of great importance especially at a time when there are few available ones, but above all more country system and more fight against Italian sounding", or the use of geographical denominations, images and brands that evoke Italy to promote and market products that are not at all attributable to our country. Protection of made in Italy and also of manufacturing: “For me – says Auricchio – industry is first of all manufacturing, and it is on what we are second in Europe, just behind Germany. I read about the agreement signed by Renzi in Milan for the4.0 industry, which is right because the industry needs innovation, but first of all it needs to produce”.
The sore points instead come from a former goose that lays the golden eggs, i.e. from non-EU markets, largely made up of the so-called emerging markets. On that front, the trade balance in the period January-July 2016 still marks a comforting +23 billion, but with an annual decline of 4,2%. The three reference countries remain the USA, Switzerland and China, with the first two in trouble as well as Mercosur (South America), which even marks a -24% this year. The fault must also be found in the geopolitical situation: "There are too many wars in the world, and this cannot fail to have implications for commercial traffic", says Auricchio.
Just think of the case of Russia, sanctioned by the EU with devastating effects for the continental and Italian economy: "A choice that has penalized us in various sectors, I deal with agri-food and I can say that it was among the most affected". Despite everything, the agri-food sector is the best performing sector in 2016, with a growth of 2,3%, behind means of transport (+2,6%) and ahead of computers, electronic and optical devices (+2%) . In general, Made in Italy, i.e. the productive sectors excluding energy, recorded a trade surplus of 46 billion euros in the first seven months of the year, mainly driven by mechanics and textiles-clothing-footwear and in particular by the Regions of the North-West, with Lombardy which alone represents over 27% of national exports (56 billion).
In Lombardy, in Cremona, the Auricchio group is also based, founded in San Giuseppe Vesuviano, near Naples, and famous all over the world for provolone cheese. “In a while we'll be 140 years old and we're still working the cheeses by hand”, reveals the managing director of the company which exports to 45 countries around the world, for a share of the turnover of around 40%. “Exporting is increasingly difficult, for this reason, in order to face international markets, we try to be innovative by combining provolone, which is a very Italian product, with new products that represent the best of the Italian dairy tradition. We try to be innovative in packaging or recipes, but without ever betraying quality". In this way, even difficult and distant countries can be reached: "In addition to China, we are focusing a lot on Vietnam, Chile and Peru".
