About 300 B2B business meetings will take place between Thursday and Friday 26 October in Bari in the two-day event organized by Assocamerestero - the Association of Unioncamere and Italian Chambers of Commerce Abroad (CCIE), private, foreign and market entrepreneurial entities – and by Unioncamere Puglia for local agri-food companies.
The initiative is part of the Project “True Italian Taste”, funded by the Ministry of Economic Development in partnership with ICE Agency in the context of "Strategic promotion campaign for the enhancement of the Italian product in relation to the Italian Sounding phenomenon". The project is coordinated by Assocamerestero and sees the participation of 21 Italian Chambers of Commerce Abroad, of which 12 in Europe (Brussels, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Frankfurt, Monaco, Luxembourg, Amsterdam, London, Barcelona, Madrid, Zurich) and 9 CCIE of USA, Canada and Mexico.
Over 2 Apulian companies in the agri-food sector (extra virgin olive oil, coffee, baked goods, pasta, cheeses, preserves, sauces, etc.) will participate in the scheduled B60B meetings and will have the opportunity to verify concretely with 12 importers and distributors from from Belgium, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Spain and Switzerland, the export opportunities of these countries which are among the top export destinations of Italian food products.
Puglia is a strategic region for the export of Made in Italy, as evidenced by the latest surveys by Unioncamere Puglia and Assocamerestero based on Istat data.
Apulian companies in the agri-food sector represent a complex universe, which includes bakery industries (equal to 2.346), oil mills (637), dairy companies (526), wine producers (408), pasta producers (389), bakery (273) and canning industries (212). There are also milling industries, coffee roasting, canning of seafood and meat processing. All without counting the commercial induced, which would further increase these data. These are solid and pervasive SMEs: one out of ten, in fact, exceeds the value of 1 million euros per year in turnover. In this more structured nucleus, 88 companies exceed 10 million in annual production value.
The aggregate financial results of the Apulian food and beverage sector are driven by a stock of invested capital which in 2017 amounted to 3 billion and 239 million euros, with an increase of 4.8% compared to the previous year, which means that in 2016 alone 154 million euros have been invested; the results are consequent, with a turnover that for limited companies alone exceeds the previous year by 4.7% and an added value that marks a +9.7%.
Consequently, the exports of these companies are also proceeding at full speed, with a value of 892 million euros in 2017, against 854 in 2016 (+4,5%). It is a data largely dominated by the
intra-Community trade (546 million euros), but non-EU Europe, Asia and the Americas exceed 100 million euros each year.
“Agribusiness is a sector in Puglia that employs 32 people – declared Luigi Triggiani, Secretary General of Unioncamere Puglia – and has a total of 5.931 transformation and beverage production industries, 20 PDO and PGI. They are companies with a strong focus on foreign markets, equipped with the necessary certifications. If our exports grow we owe it to them too, with a value of 892 million euros in 2017, against 854 in 2016 (+4,47%). It is a figure largely dominated by intra-Community trade (546 million), but non-EU Europe, Asia and the Americas each break through 100 million euros a year. Initiatives like this offer further opportunities, especially for small businesses, to get to know new markets or consolidate their presence".
Particular attention within the “True Italian Taste” project is reserved for certified food products, increasingly sought after all over the world. Italy can count on 818 Geographical Indications registered at European level, almost 15 billion in production value, which translate into 8,4 billion in export value, contributing 22% to national agri-food exports.
Europe continues to be the top destination for Made in Italy agri-food with a 70% share of Italian exports in the sector. However, it is not always easy for Italian companies to enter these market segments because they have to compete with Italian Sounding products, which are less expensive and easily available. The meetings of the buyers - operating in the medium and high-end retail, wholesale, e-commerce and ho.re.ca chains - in the territories covered by the "True Italian Taste" project intend to support local businesses through the alliances that the CCIE establishes with local business communities.
These business meetings are also an opportunity to carry out promotional activities for authentic Italian products and to increase awareness and consumption of true Made in Italy agri-food products, in contrast to the Italian Sounding phenomenon which fuels a turnover of around 90 billion euros per year.
