Plants and flowers, the restart after Covid comes from exports

Last year the cancellation of public events, fairs and assemblies, confirmations, communions, baptisms and weddings but also the slowdown if not the paralysis of the maintenance of parks and gardens and investments in public green. The result? The horticultural sector lost 1.7 billion and was “among those hardest hit by the economic effects generated by the pandemic”, explains Ettore Prandini, president of Coldiretti but “is demonstrating a great capacity for resilience and is also among those who are recovering more quickly with strong demand also from abroad where there is a record increase of 33% in exports of Made in Italy plants in the first quarter of 2021 ». Domestic consumption is also recovering, at least according to the survey that Ixé carried out for Coldiretti which highlights how “with the pandemic, almost 7 out of 10 Italians (68%) go hunting for plants in nurseries to embellish their homes and gardens, to fight heat and heat, to defend against mosquitoes and annoying insects or even to directly grow fruit and vegetables to bring to the table ». Prandini again: “Now we need to protect the future of a sector and key of the Made in Italy agri-food sector that offers about 200 thousand jobs with a value of the Italian production of flowers and plants that reaches 2.7 billion euros”.