MADE IN ITALY FOODS ARE WINNING ABROAD. “2006 IS THE YEAR OF CHANGE AFTER A LONG STAGNATION. EXPORTS GROW BY 10%, WITH EARNINGS REACHING 110 BILLION EUROS”. DECLARATION BY GIAN DOMENICO AURICCHIO, PRESIDENT OF FEDERALIMENTARE

After four years of stagnation, exports in 2006 increased by 10% and earnings for the entire food sector rose to 110 billion euros, at a percentage of 2.8%, much higher than the average national gross domestic product. But there must still be more synergy among producers, industry and distribution. In a few words, “creating a team and aiming decidedly abroad”, because alone there’s no going anywhere. This was the appeal made by Gian Domenico Auricchio, the new president of Federalimentare, at the annual assembly held recently in Rome.

In his analysis he did not hide that the Italian industrial food structure is too parcelized: there are 24,000 enterprises that are made up of less than 9 employees, about 7,000 above this. But Auricchio repeated that creating a team is the only path that can be taken. The government has helped a bit by introducing fiscal benefits for those whose enterprises have entered the network. In recent years there has been a different attention placed on institutions, that, together with the activities of Confindustria, has resulted in growth abroad precisely because there was a united force presented; as well as the fact that Italian food products are the best and the surest, so much so that in 2006 the sector invested 2.86 billion euros (2% of total earnings) in security controls.

But this is all still too little. The ideas are not missing and successful food industry enterprises are appearing just about everywhere, but “the niche idea won’t go very far” – continued the president of Federalimentare – “and it is still a great difficulty the lack of an Italian colossal for large distribution, and for this reason we must increase dialog and the collaboration with the entire food sector”.