EXPORT SAVES 2008 BUT 2009 REMAINS UNCERTAIN ACCORDING TO MEDIOBANCA STUDY. ITALY’S UNDERSECRETARY FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ADOLFO URSO: “AGRICULTURE IS STILL A SALVATION”

The economic crisis has even had a significant impact on Italian winemakers who are now looking at 2009 with less optimism after 2008 had already showed signs of a substantial decrease in the growth of overall earnings (up only 1.4% over 2004). Exports were what held the sector afloat last year (+2.8%), compensating for the heavy stagnancy on the internal market (+0.2%). These were the results of the tenth study by the Mediobanca Study Center, which took under examination 97 Italian winemaking enterprises (27 cooperatives and 66 private businesses) that earned more than 20 million euros, including the top nine companies on the international market.
In particular, for the expectations for 2009, half of the companies foresee a stationary scenario, a quarter are pessimistic (with decreases of over 3%), and the remaining 25% expect growth.

As for exports, the European Union remains, by far, the most important area (52% in 2008, 48% in 2007). It is followed by North America (37% in 2008, 40% in 2007). The Asia/Australia market registered a decrease of 3.5% since 2007.

A contraction in investments is also foreseen (of about 9%) after a major re-dimensioning in 2007 (-22%). This is the lowest level reached in this period, with maximum levels reached in 2006 (over 300 million euros). A high level of spending coverage, however, through cash-flow resources still remains: from 114% in 2003, it rose to 140% in 2007 and over 150% in 2008.



Italy’s Undersecretary of Economic Development, Adolfo Urso:
“The GDP is falling but Italy is holding up better than other EU countries. Agriculture is still a salvation”
“We are holding up better than other European countries but, obviously, even we feel and suffer from the crisis and we must work towards safeguarding the production of even small and medium sized industries and artisans”. This was the statement made by Italy’s Undersecretary of Economic Development, Adolfo Urso, during the Confagricoltura Forum held recently in Taormina, in response to the forecasts made by Confindustria that the GDP will fall by 3.5%.

“We are working so that Italian production holds up better in respect to other European countries and, in fact, the forecasts in Germany predict a fall of -5%. The organization of world commerce has predicted a fall in commerce of nine points, thus, the ‘tsunami’ that is hitting our main commercial partners will obviously provoke consequences for Italian exports. However, the data provided by ISTAT on exports is more encouraging than it was in January because there has been a decrease of 20% for Italian exports but it is inferior to data from the previous month and, above all, it is far less in respect to decreases in other countries”.

“In this phase” – concluded Urso – “of grave global recession, agriculture is still a salvation. Countries like Italy, which have maintained a vital and competitive agricultural sector, have withstood the crisis better than those with less connections to the agri-industrial sector”.