Sales of quality foods and wine declined last year, apparently because the economic recovery was not strong enough to convince Italians to give precedence to quality over quantity, sector sources said.
According to the institute for farm and food services Ismea, sales of products with labels designated protected designation of origin (PDO) and protected geographical indication (PGI) fell 3.3% in the first 11 months of 2006, after inching up 0.3% for the same period the previous year.
Ismea observed that the economic recovery was apparently not enough give a significant boost to domestic retail buying of the higher-priced quality goods.
Ismea also found that sales of wines with the DOC label, which guarantees the area where the wine was produced, were down 4.8% for the first 11 months of 2006, after inching up 0.5% during the January-November period of 2005.
Ismea calculated that in 2006 the market for certified quality food products, including organic goods, had an annual turnover of 14.416 billion euros, 75% of which was from domestic sales.
PDO and PGI products make up over 53% of this market, followed by DOC wines with 30% and organic products with about 17%.
The organic food market, Ismea said, dropped by 2.6% in the first 11 months of 2006.
