It is a sector made up of 21,500 companies, 30 thousand hectares of cultivated land, a total turnover of 2.5 billion and a total of 200 thousand employees. We are talking about the Italian horticulture that risks blowing up due to the 95% increase in costs caused by the energy price increases that affect the entire supply chain but also the growth in the costs of fertilizers and packaging, of plastic in paper jars. and packaging, not to mention gas oil for heating greenhouses whose weight in the company budget is destined to grow with the arrival of autumn and the drop in temperatures. The “red” alarm was launched by Coldiretti based on the analysis of data provided by Crea (the research center for agricultural economics) on the occasion of the Flormart which is held from today (Wednesday 21 September) to Friday 23 September at the Padua Fair.
From energy to fertilizers, the boom in costs
Horticultural companies, explains Coldiretti, are facing avalanche cost increases: + 250% for fertilizers, + 110% for diesel, + 15% for plant protection products against parasites, + 45% for rental services, according to latest Crea data. But the increases also affect packaging from plastic for flower pots (+ 72%) to glass (+ 40%) to paper (+ 31%) for which delivery times are also lengthened, in some cases even quintupled. Transport costs also exploded in a country like Italy where 85% of goods travel by road.
Coldiretti’s proposals
To combat the expensive bills, Coldiretti argues, a first step is represented by the extension to buildings and greenhouses of the reduction of diesel costs until the end of the year together with the tax credit for energy and gas costs which are also accessed by agricultural enterprises, respectively, for 30% and 40% of the expenditure incurred. Among the proposals of Coldiretti, there is, among other things, the release of 1.2 billion for supply chain contracts already allocated in the NRP and the encouragement of restructuring and renegotiation of the debt of agricultural companies. Finally, there is expectation for the provision, transmitted by the Ministry of Agricultural Policies to the State-Regions conference, under discussion on September 28th, which provides for contribution measures for horticultural companies that have incurred costs higher than at least in the period March-August 2022. 30% compared to those incurred in the same period last year, for the management of production activities, essentially carried out in greenhouses, for the purchase of electricity, methane gas, LPG, diesel and biomass used for combustion in the company.
The threat from abroad
But there is more. Horticulture, explains Coldiretti, which has 14 thousand companies that deal with the production of plants and flowers in pots and 7,500 companies that instead produce transplant seedlings, is also put under pressure by imports from abroad which grew in the first six months of 2022 by 59% compared to the same period last year: over two thirds of imports (71% of the total imported) comes from Holland. Between January and June of this year, Coldiretti explains, imports of plants and flowers reached almost 452 million euros, covering 77% of the value recorded throughout 2021 in six months. In practice, according to Coldiretti, 1 product on 5 comes from abroad, despite the slowdown in international trade caused by the tensions over the war in Ukraine with the reduction in the EU of 40% of the cut flower trade and the loss of 30% of the purchasing power of EU consumers, according to the latest estimates of the Copa Cogeca.
Prandini’s appeal: “Choose Made in Italy”
“It is necessary to fight the unfair competition of products imported from abroad by ensuring that plants and flowers for sale in Italy and in Europe respect the same rules on the environment, health and workers’ rights” says the president of Coldiretti Ettore Prandini who underlines ” ” importance of preferring Made in Italy production in a difficult time for the national economy by choosing the purchase of tricolor flowers, directly from producers or from points of sale that guarantee their origin, to support businesses, employment and territory”.