COSTS - COLDIRETTI COMBATS AGRICULTURAL MARKET PRICE HIKES IN CITIES. FARMER MARKET BOOM IN FRANCE, BRITAIN AND THE UNITED STATES, BUT ITALY STILL CAN’T PASS DECREE

“Favoring the opening of markets run directly by agricultural entrepreneurs responds to the growing demand by consumers to reduce intermediaries, to combat price increase, to ensure product quality and to limit environmental pollution”. This was a recent affirmation by Coldiretti president, Sergio Marini, who also emphasized that, “There is a growing segment of the market that, on a global scale, wants to buy fresh, natural, local products that do not have to cross large distances on polluting means of transportation, and undergoing long transportation periods in order to arrive at dinner tables”.

In Italy, even with the good intentions of the new finance bill, the norms that would favor the diffusion of Farmer’s Markets in Italian cities remain unapplied because of the accumulated delays for the go ahead to implement these measures by the Ministry of Agriculture, and which would have created a barrier for the price increases that have been announced for this fall.

There are, however, consumers who avoid these economic difficulties by going directly to agricultural companies for their acquisitions. According to data collected by the National Observatory, with the support of Coldiretti and Agri 2000, almost 7 out of 10 Italians buy directly from agricultural producers, judging them increasingly more convenient, with a growth in sales reaching 2.4 billion euros for wine, fruit, vegetables, olive oil, cheeses, and other specialties that were acquired.

A survey by Agri 2000 also revealed that savings by consumers who bought goods directly from agricultural companies reached 20-30%, further justification when joined with their guarantee of quality and freshness.

This is a phenomenon in more developed countries that also regards commercial distribution, like in France, Great Britain and the United States where Farmer’s Markets are in rapid expansion, with a growth of 30% over the arc of the past five years, passing from 3,000 to over 3,700, and appearing in such metropolitan centers as New York and Los Angeles.
And, in fact, it is not only in Los Angeles but in the entire state of California that there has been a true boom in Farmer’s Markets, now an obligatory stop for citizens and tourists, as well as for vendors who are increasing sales with the increase in these markets.

This is, therefore, an economic and occupational reality that is important for the Italian territory as well. This is not, however, enough to repair the economic neglect that is present in current agricultural politics and the delayed intervention for necessary renovations, as is evident in the reforms that are just now taking place in Brussels for fruit and vegetable production.

According to Coldiretti, direct sales already involve 45,650 agricultural companies, of which, 41%(or 21,000) are wineries, making wine the number one direct sales product. This is followed by fruit and vegetable products (23.5%) that are often bought at road side stands during summer months, olive oil (16%), meat cold cuts (8%), cheeses (5%) and, finally, honey (1%).

From the analyses on these locations where it is possible to make direct acquisitions, it appears that 2 companies out of 3 use easy access sales points like those set up on road sides, 23.8% participate at markets and fairs, and a small minority, 2.2%, have sales points located in city and town centers or offer home delivery, 2.4%.