Prohibitively priced fuel, slow renewable energy and a decline in purchasing power have attacked the fruit and vegetable sector. Fruitimprese, which brings together companies in the sector, made the first assessment of a year which was also hit by extreme climatic events.
The country with its high temperatures was within the European average ofhottest summer. The consequences in the countryside have been felt and the entire sector, central to our economy, has left behind the surge in exports recorded in 2022.
On the one hand, farmers seize the opportunities of the European Agricultural Policy (CAP), on the other they have to deal with a system still too disjointed with the historical structural differences between North and South.
In practice, heavy diseconomies that arrive on market stalls and in the shopping cart. In recent weeks, with the generalized high prices, concerns are rising. “We need to intervene immediately,” he said Elly Schlein because "between December 2021 and June 2023 the consumer price index - calculated according to Eurostat criteria - increased overall by 13%."
Negative trade balance
Il trade balance of fruit and vegetables of the first six months of the year was reduced by 25% compared to 2022. On a national level, purchasing power, plagued by price increases and speculation, has eliminated fruit and vegetables from daily spending. A scenario which, Fruitimprese underlines, represents a slowdown after a positive trend that has lasted months.
The satisfaction with the previous growth in exports of our products is turning into a memory. It is clear that the competition with countries such as France and Spain it got difficult. “The balance in volume is also bad, going from -291.127 tonnes in the first six months of 2022 to -338.351 tonnes in the first half of the current year” notes the Association. The alert goes directly to politicians who should take charge of support measures.
Italians must consume more fruit and vegetables, it is repeated every time the opportunity arises. The issue is not just nutritional, clearly. The government has promised a institutional campaign on the consumption of fruit and vegetables, but it is not known when it will arrive. Fiscal measures should also be put in place to increase the spending capacity of families, say farmers faced with a sudden and unexpected regression.
The role of general markets
At this point it is time to look at the supply chain, at the wholesale markets, where the first price is established. It's done abroad. "I wholesale markets they are the place where products acquire added value in packaging, quality control, traceability and transparent price formation in the interests of producers and the final consumer" he says Salvatore DeMeo, Forza Italia MEP, promoter of a meeting on the topic in Brussels.
The high cost of living has meant that 22% of Italians now don't buy vegetables and fruit because they can't afford it on their income. The latest data says they are 2,6 million those who do not eat these products. The economic and health deficit was also analyzed by the Ambrosetti study and presented in Brussels: “In the face of a growing pressure on operating costs, markets have cushioned inflation 53,1% of the time over the past year,” between February 2022 and February 2023. Wholesale agri-food markets have bucked rising inflation. The good thing is that families haven't noticed and are giving up on buying. The system requires fine-tuning with antibodies for this type of sudden seizure. Today it looks like a snakes and ladders: products, costs, prices, purchasing power, prices, costs, products (unsold). Who holds the dice.
