After the pandemic and the strong rebound of 2021 driven by exports in 2022, uncertainty dominates. This is the scenario for wines, spirits, liqueurs and vinegars according to what emerged today in Rome from the Federvini Assembly according to the data illustrated by the Federvini Observatory and developed in collaboration with Nomisma and Tradelab.
The numbers
Exports, a fundamental lever for all sectors represented, grew in the first four months of 2022 in the main target markets: + 12% for the wine sector, + 45% for the spirits sector and + 4.1% for the sector The internal market, on the other hand, is starting to show signs of the worsening of the economic situation. It is therefore no coincidence that retail sales in Italy are down, compared to the same period of the previous year, by -9.6% for wines, -5% for spirits and -4.3% for the vinegars. On the other hand, out-of-home consumption of wines and spirits is growing, due to a dynamic largely conditioned by the easing of restrictions linked to the pandemic, although it should be noted that the sector is still far from the values reached in 2019. “It is a time for great uncertainty – commented the president of Federvini, Micaela Pallini -. An open and transparent dialogue with the Government and the production chains is necessary: no sector is saved on its own. We ask for structural interventions and market measures, in terms of simplifications, promotion and long-term support for our exports ». Three panels in which the morning’s debate was divided. The one dedicated to “Italy” chaired by Albiera Antinori, President of the Federvini Wines Group, focused on the relaunch proposals necessary to support the sectors in an extremely delicate economic phase. Federvini underlined the need to intervene on regulatory issues that can no longer be postponed, the streamlining of bureaucratic burdens and tax incentives, with the aim of improving the competitiveness of Italian companies on the foreign market. «On simplifications – added the president of the Gruppo Vini di Federvini, Albiera Antinori – we can do many things. In Italy we should complete the digitization process of the wine sector by linking the vineyard register to the electronic register. In Europe it is necessary to complete the harmonization of the internal market on distance selling, today made difficult by the bureaucratic requirements that make the electronic commerce of our products really complicated ». We could not miss some references to the theme of alcohol use and abuse that was at the center of the panel dedicated to the “Society”. “The fight against all forms of abuse of our products – added the president of the Spirits Group, Giuseppe D’Avino – must be combined with the defense of moderate and responsible consumption, in line with the Italian tradition based on the Mediterranean diet and one lifestyle based on healthy sociability and conviviality “. Another widely debated topic, in the “Europe” panel, is the protection of made in Italy from counterfeiting with the cases of Prosek and Aceto Balsamico above all. «We believe that the protection of geographical indications – concluded the president of the Aceti di Federvini Group, Giacomo Ponti – should be one of the fundamental priorities of the Italian government. What happened with the Prosek cases and Slovenian balsamic vinegar shows us how, even in Europe, there is no lack of attacks on our leading products. We hope that our representatives in all locations will firmly defend this principle. On the Slovenian case, unfortunately, we are still waiting for the Government to give the green light to the opening of the dispute with Slovenia, which in recent months has already placed on the market products labeled as ‘balsamic vinegar’ “.