Covid has changed the eating habits of Italians and foreigners by increasing the consumption of fruit and vegetables. According to Coldiretti, fruit and vegetables has become the first item of expenditure of Italian families at the table, surpassing in value all other products, from meat to pasta, from fish to cheeses, from milk to oil, for a total of almost 1300 euros per year. And the export of fresh and processed products also increased and became the first item of sales on foreign markets with a jump in value of over 6%. Rimini, with the edition in the presence of Macfrut inaugurated this morning by the Minister of Agriculture Stefano Patuanelli, is the right place to start a reflection on the sector, According to Ettore Prandini, the president of the agricultural organization, “on this scenario, the deficit is Italian logistics due to the lack or total absence of infrastructures for freight transport costs our country over 13 billion euros with a gap that penalizes the national economic system compared to the other countries of the European Union ».
But there are also problems related to the climate emergency. «2020 was a traumatic year – explained the president of Macfrut, Renzo Piraccini – we had the Asian bug, hailstorms, environmental disasters. But despite this and despite the climate of uncertainty, companies want to restart and have their say “. patuanelli sees it this way: «Our businesses must be supported with public interventions and insurance solutions aimed at supporting agricultural income. Support for the fruit and vegetable supply chain is important. Support of agricultural income, before thinking about compensation. It is unthinkable that there are regions with only 7% of the insured producers ». Without forgetting that «it is necessary to act to deal with the procurement and cost of labor, the cost for the producer is high and the income for those who collect the fruit is very low, hence the birth of the illegal hiring. We must stop this vicious circle through a tax reform ».
And then there is sustainability. Conserve Italia, the cooperative group that owns the Valfrutta, Cirio, Yoga, Derby Blue and Jolly Colombani brands, recovers over 50,000 tons of by-products. Tomato skins, corn leaves, non-compliant seeds of peas with out-of-size chickpeas, up to peach and apricot kernels are then used for zootechnical feeding and energy production through anaerobic digestion.