Italy's organic food industry needs a major overhaul and legislative support in order to cope with a boom in public demand, two of the country's top farming associations said on Thursday .
During a meeting organized by the Agriculture Ministry, both the Italian Farmers Confederation (CIA) and Coldiretti urged the government to take action .
"There is a fundamental need for a sustainable support framework in the shape of infrastructures, such as warehousing, packaging and processing and widescale distribution," said CIA President Giuseppe Politi .
"Adequate solutions are needed for a sector that has grown by 21.7% over the last year. This has placed Italy fourth in the world globally, after Australia, China and Argentina, and first in Europe" .
Politi particularly highlighted the need to help small and medium sized businesses working in the organic sector. He suggested that "simplifying legislation on health, bureaucracy and tax, setting up collective workshops, and triggering interest among restaurateurs and local tourism promotional bodies" would all be effective strategies. Politi's remarks were closely echoed by Coldiretti Secretary-General Franco Pasquali, who also underlined the need for a special label for Italian-made organic food. "The government must implement an Italian organic label in order to catch up with countries such as France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Holland, Sweden and Denmark - all of whom made this move a long time ago". He described the label as "vital" in order to support the recent turnaround in Italian organic production. "After years of reductions, the sector saw a boom in 2005, resulting in a 12% increase in the area of land devoted to organic farming, a 22% growth in the number of farmers involved and - for the first time - a drop in the number of importers, down 6%". According to Coldiretti, organic products account for 2% of the Italian food industry's turnover and this share is growing rapidly .
In 2005, organic food generated 1.5 billion euros, with dairy products accounting for 21% of sales, fruit and vegetables for 18%, bread and pasta for 13%, drunks 9% and meat and eggs 9% The conference on the future of Italy's organic industry took place at the 18th edition of SANA, an international fair dedicated to health, food and the environment. A Coldiretti survey published at SANA on Thursday suggested that 71% of Italians purchased organic food in 2005, while two-thirds said they would buy more if they were guaranteed Italian produce .
Coldiretti also drew up a profile of those most likely to buy organic food. Although there was no difference between men and women, northerners were more interested in organic food than those in the south. In addition, the typical purchaser tends to be an employed, university graduate aged 30-49, and living in a big city .
SANA, which is the biggest fair of its kind in the world, also allows visitors to choose from over 4,000 affordable natural products on sale at the "Supermarket Della Natura". In addition to organic products, the supermarket offers a range of environmentally friendly cutlery, cups and plates, made of natural resin from renewable vegetable substances, pressed fibre, and wood from "responsibly maintained forests". Other features at SANA include an "eat and play" restaurant for children, a wine and mineral water-tasting section, and "Econogreen", a device that organizers say can massively reduce fuel consumption and pollution in most cars. The fair, which includes 149 exhibitors from 49 different countries, is open until Sunday .
