The countries where on the shelves of large-scale distribution there are more foods that imitate the excellence of Made in Italy? In order: Japan, Brazil and Germany. The most copied products? The ragù, the parmesan and the balsamic accent. Starting from here and from the other eight food references that are sold on international markets only because they evoke our country – pesto, frozen pizza, ham, durum wheat pasta, prosecco, salami, gorgonzola and extra virgin olive oil – the Ambrosetti studio has an algorithm has been developed which for the first time «allows us to scientifically calculate the value of Italian sounding, the greatest obstacle to the growth of our exports». The imitation effect brings 79.2 billion into the coffers of the food industry of other countries, 29 billion more than the total value of exports, which is now worth 50.1 billion. To try to counter this phenomenon – it is not possible to do this in legal proceedings because we are not in the presence of a crime – Ambrosetti has developed the guidelines that were presented in Bormio at the conference on Food & Beverage that could be useful in view of the penetration into new markets. In Bormio, a focus was also made on the Philippines which has a growing economy and which could be interesting for companies in the dairy, beverage and flour processing sectors. Manila, then, could also be the gateway to the ASEAN area, the association of Southeast Asian countries.
According to the researchers, however, on international markets the price factor can make the difference. The foreign consumer – 3 out of ten – focuses on a typical Italian gastronomy when this involves a lower expense, rather than placing as a priority the real guarantee of the territorial origin of the purchased product.
If this is the case, then, the imitation effect is worth 51.6 billion, in any case more than the actual value of the real Made in Italy. Probably one of the ways to follow is to activate free trade agreements between the EU and third countries and create bilateral agreements more favorable to the agri-food sector. And then we need promotion and campaigns to combat false communication, especially towards British, American, Dutch, Chinese, Australian, Canadian and French consumers who buy more products that evoke Italy.
This, however, is the future. The present, on the other hand, is linked to the galloping inflation that the war that broke out due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine feeds every day and which increases the shortage of agricultural raw materials. A gap that in 2021 has further widened. According to the Ambrosetti report last year, Italy increased its dependence on agricultural commodities by 1 billion, reaching an overall trade deficit of 8.5 billion. In general, analyzing the trend from 2010 to 2021, our country has “lost” over 85 billion of GDP because it is forced to purchase raw materials for agri-food from third countries. Above all, the shortage of cereals available at national level stands out, resulting in a trade balance deficit of almost 5 billion euros, but there is also a knock on the door of foreign suppliers for processed fish (-4.4 billion) and fish products (- 1.2 billion), processed meat (-3.6) and oils and fats (-2.7), many of these coming from Ukraine and Russia.