The food and agriculture system in Veneto comprises about 79,000 farm businesses and more than 7,400 food-industry businesses: Although the number of farm businesses has fallen in recent years, food-industry businesses have risen each year (Figure 8.3.1).
The food industry plays a major role in Veneto's economy, in that in regional terms it accounts for 2% of value added, 5.7% of exports and 2.3% of employees; on a national level it comprises 10% of the Italian food industry's value added, 9.8% of its employment and more than 13% of its exports.
The driving forces behind this industry are baking, patisserie and fresh pasta; more than 70% of food-industry businesses are involved in these sectors.
The value of Veneto's gross agricultural production in 2009 is estimated at 4,375 million euro, a drop of about 7.5% on 2008. This drop is mainly due to the falling prices of agricultural produce, which affected specifically crops and animal breeding, given that the variation calculated at constant prices, i.e. on product quantity and not on market prices, is much slimmer (-1.4%). Veneto agriculture also felt the force of the international crisis that blighted 2009, although its woes were less evident than in other areas of the region's economy.
As mentioned, there was a continued drop in the number of active businesses in Veneto's agriculture and forestry sectors: at the end of 2009, there were almost 79,500 farm businesses, a drop of 3.2% on 2008. This drop is serious in relative terms when compared to the fall in the total number of Veneto enterprises, down only 0.9%.
Looking at the last five years, the downturn in the number of active businesses in the industry becomes even clearer: the 91,000-plus businesses registered in 2005 have fallen by 14% (note that it was mainly small businesses with a minor market role that disappeared, marking a step towards a more business-like form of agriculture resulting in much bigger farm businesses).
A major fall in Italy's agriculture employees has also been registered, down 2.3% on 2008. Veneto's figures are somewhat different from national ones and the drop in employees is less marked (-1.6%).
In 2009, 34% of Veneto's Utilised Agricultural Area (UAA) was devoted to corn, the main crop grown by local agriculture.
Other crops that cover a major share of UAA include forage plants (24%), mainly in mountain areas, bread wheat (12%) and soya (8%), which is a viable alternative to corn, especially in agronomy terms. Major shares were also devoted to vines, outdoor vegetable crops and fruit.
That more than half of UAA is devoted to crops used by the animal husbandry supply-chain is proof that the rearing of livestock is widespread in Veneto; indeed, the value of animal-husbandry production is 42% of the entire value produced by Veneto's agriculture industry; this value is mainly based on the rearing of poultry (14% of the total), beef cattle (10%) and dairy cows (7%).
The biggest sectors of agricultural crops in terms of value produced are vegetables (14%), wine-growing (7%) and cereals (7%) (Figure 8.3.2) and (Table 8.3.1).
We should also point out that according to provisional Istat and Coeweb figures, the sales balance deficit of the region's food and agriculture industry fell by one-third, from 1.2 billion euro to about 800 million euro (-33% on 2008); this was due to a fall in imports (-16%) that was proportionally higher than the fall in exports (-10%). The positive effects on the final balance are mainly down to the food industry, which had a positive balance (17 million euro), while the agriculture and fishing sectors reduced their negative balance (-819 million euro, -11% on 2008).
The year 2009 was characterised by the low prices of cereal crops, which gave farmers cause for concern in terms of what to sow, as well as commercially and financially.
UAA devoted to corn showed a slight drop in 2009 (-1%), falling to about 278,000 hectares (Note 1). Overall, in the last five years, UAA devoted to this crop fell by about 10%, reflecting the performance of the animal-husbandry industry. Despite good seasonal weather conditions, the problems encountered during sowing and post-sowing had a negative effect on yield (7.6 t/ha, -6%), which reduced overall production by about 2.1 million tonnes (-7.5%).
The UAA devoted to bread wheat sank 9% on the previous year to 98,000 hectares due to the drop in price of the main cereals, both on the national and international markets. Good spring weather contributed to the yield (6.3 t/ha, +3%), bringing overall production to about 616,000 tonnes (-6%).
There was also an increase in the UAA devoted to other autumn-winter crops such as durum wheat: although 2009 saw a 6% fall in its UAA, which dropped to 11,700 hectares, over the last five years the UAA devoted to durum wheat has increased more than ten-fold. Despite a major fall in the UAA devoted to barley, down 19%, it is still 30% more than the UAA of 2005, with it now standing at 10,200 hectares.
UAA for rice stood at about 3,200 hectares, a 10% increase on the previous year. Yields were also higher than the previous year and overall production stood at about 18,500 tonnes (+17%).
The UAA devoted to sugar beet increased slightly in 2009, bringing production to about 936,000 tonnes (-4%), equal to the production of 143,000 tonnes of sucrose. We should mention that since 2006, in the wake of a review of the Common Market Organisation of Sugar, the UAA devoted to sugar beet has more than halved at regional level.
In 2009, UAA devoted to tobacco dropped to about 7,700 hectares (-6%). Overall, however, yield increased, bringing production up to around 30,000 tonnes (+1% on 2008).
In 2009, UAA devoted to soya increased by about 20% on the previous year, and it now stands at 67,500 hectares. Veneto is Italy's leading region for soya production as it accounts for more than one half of national UAA devoted to the cultivation of this high-protein legume. A sharp rise in yield has enabled Veneto to produce a total of about 251,000 tonnes (+43% on the previous year).
UAA devoted to energy crops was practically stable in Veneto in 2008, and it stood at 7,200 hectares. There was a 46% drop on 2007's level of UAA devoted to biogas crops, such as corn and forager plants; however there was only a slight fall in UAA for biodiesel crops (soya, colza and sunflowers), down 3%. On the other hand, wood biomass (poplars) more than doubled its UAA on 2007 (Figure 8.3.3).
There was a slump in the number of businesses that invested in energy crops, with numbers dropping to 834 (-25%). In absolute terms, the sharpest fall was recorded by businesses that devoted UAA to biodiesel crops, which fell by more than 300 units (-31%).
In recent years, Veneto's fruit-and-vegetable industry has recorded a fall in UAA devoted to vegetables, which dropped overall in 2009 to about 34,600 hectares (-1%); fruit crop UAA, however, remained fairly stable (23,600 ha). Over the last five years, however, both industries recorded a drop of about 4% in UAA. Good seasonal weather favoured production, which led to an increase in the yield of many crops; this, however, drove prices down in general and penalised commercial results. Value dropped both for vegetable production (about -4%) and for fruit production (-9%). Overall, this industry was worth about 850 million euro, three-quarters of which were attributable to vegetable production, which maintains a share of more than 9% of the national total.
Once again, radicchio was the region's leader both in UAA (10,000 hectares) and in value (100 million euro); then came strawberries, lettuce and tomatoes.
There was a major increase in apple production, up 8%, to 226,000 tonnes, due to an increase both in yield (+6.6%) and in UAA (+1%). The average annual price, however, recorded a fall of 16%, with even greater falls at the start of the new marketing campaign. UAA and production were stable for peaches and nectarines, but their average price fell by 42% on 2008; there was a slight increase in pear production (+2.4%) and in average pear price (+2%). Prices also fell for kiwis (-30%) and cherries (-15%).
Wine-growing is undoubtedly one of the most sophisticated and dynamic sectors of Veneto's food industry. According to the Schedario Viticolo, a database of information about Italy's wine-growing industry, in structural terms, Veneto boasts a wine-growing UAA that has settled at around 70,000 hectares in recent years; the majority of vines are planted in the provinces of Treviso and Verona. According to surveys, there are about 52,000 wine-growing businesses, many of which are small enterprises and members of wine cooperatives. One of the strengths of Veneto wine-growing is that it boasts major cooperatives that in recent years have pooled a large number of wine-growers. At present Veneto's 39 wine cooperatives cover a UAA of about 40,000 hectares and have 26,000 partners.
Another hallmark of Veneto wine-growing is that it is a distinctly global affair: about 28% of Italy's total wine exports come from Veneto, i.e. one in four bottles of Italian wine consumed abroad (Figure 8.3.4).
The first of August 2009 saw the revised wine Common Market Organisation (CMO) come into force (Note 2).
The changes introduced by this EU reform aim to bring a balance to the wine market, phase out wasteful and expense market intervention measures and allow the budget to be used for more positive, proactive measures which will boost the competitiveness of European wines.
The reform also provides for a fast restructuring of the wine sector. It includes a voluntary three-year grubbing up scheme to provide an alternative for uncompetitive producers and to remove surplus wine from the market.
Subsidies for crisis distillation and potable alcohol distillation will be phased out and the money, allocated in national envelopes, can be used for measures like wine promotion on third country markets, restructuring and investment in modernisation of vineyards and cellars. The reform will contribute to environmental protection in wine-growing regions, safeguard traditional and well-established quality policies and simplify labelling rules for the benefit of producers and consumers alike.
Italy's previous designations (DOCG, DOC, and IGT) will now come under the lists of Protected Designation of Origin and Protected Geographical Indication products (in Italian DOP and IGP respectively), which already constitute the basis of quality certifications for European Union produce.
This move is significant for Veneto, in particular, as the revised CMO has awarded the DOCG designation to Prosecco made in traditional areas and the DOC designation to Prosecco made in the provinces of Padova, Treviso, Vicenza, Belluno and Venezia; both new designations came into force with the revised CMO. It has thus further changed the wine-growing map for the last harvest taken into consideration, significantly redistributing designations (Figure 8.3.5).
Total wine production for 2009 stood at almost 8 million hectolitres, remaining fairly stable on the previous year; however, there was a considerable increase in DOP wine (DOCG and DOC in 2008) which soared by 25% and a slump in IGP wine (IGT in 2008), which fell by almost 23%.
The biggest contribution to this variation can be attributed to the province of Treviso, which is home to the areas of Prosecco DOCG.
There was also an increase in varietal wine, i.e. wine made from one type of grape; all of the wines excluded from DOP and IGP designations fall into this category.
Although the 2009 harvest was good in quantity and quality terms, one drawback was that prices fell in all of the Produce Exchanges in Veneto and in almost all of the grape varieties sold. On average prices fell by 10-20% on 2008 prices, which had also fallen sharply on 2007, with troughs as low as 30-40%.
Italy has become accustomed to leading Europe in terms of the number of its certified quality products; at the end of 2009, it had 194 designation of origin and geographical indication products. In comparison to the previous year, it was the country that registered the most new products (20).
Veneto is the Italian region with the highest number of certified products, although Emilia Romagna has the biggest share of national turnover (Figure 8.3.6).
If we look at the share of the total number of Italy's certifications and share of turnover, we notice an opposing trend: the majority of regions with a good share of the total number of Italian certifications do not have an equally high share of turnover; vice versa, in regions such as Emilia Romagna and Lombardia, which alone bring home almost two-thirds of Italy's turnover in this area, their share of designations is much lower than their share of turnover.
The reason behind this gap depends on the types of designation each region has and on their production value: Emilia Romagna and Lombardia lead the way as they have DOP and IGP products that contribute more to Italy's turnover; these products include Grana Padano, Parmigiano Reggiano, Prosciutto di Parma, and Mortadella di Bologna (Figure 8.3.7).
In Veneto, however, 50% of the designations are accounted for by fruit, vegetables or cereals, which contribute only 5% to national turnover. There is a similar situation in other regions including Campania, Piemonte and Toscana.
Despite this, however, Veneto sits just outside the medal positions in the regional rankings for its turnover, which grew by 10% on the previous year.
Italian production turnover also grew in 2008 and with a forecast of over 5.1 million euro, it increased by 3.6% on the previous year.
The estimated value of Veneto cows' milk production in 2009 did not pass the 350 million euro mark; in fact it slumped on the previous year (-17%) due to the consistent fall in the farmgate price, which stood at 34-36 euro/100 litres including VAT, not sufficient to ensure a return for the majority of milk producers. Production in 2008/09 in terms of quantity fell by 2% due to the closure of 5% of farms, which now number about 4,400 units (Figure 8.3.8).
The majority of Veneto milk is destined for dairy processing, in particular being turned into DOP cheeses such as Grana Padano (about 570,000 wheels in Veneto), Asiago (about 1,750,000 wheels between Pressato and d'Allevo), Montasio (about 300,000 wheels) and Piave, soon to receive DOP certification (about 310,000 wheels).
Veneto is still Italy's leading producer of beef meat, with a share of 24.5% of the national total. This percentage is even higher if we look at the most sought-after varieties: veal and white veal. Production in 2009 is estimated at 210,000 tonnes, a slight fall on 2008. The turnover is calculated at about 460 million euro, another drop of about 6% on 2008, mainly due to the fall in prices. This sector has also had problems making a return, as it has to tread a fine line between production costs, market prices and meeting the requirements imposed by environmental and animal-welfare legislation. This situation mainly affects small producers: the percentage of cattle reared on a farm with more than 100 other cattle rose from about 78% in 2004 to almost 84% in 2008; today more than 90% of cattle are reared on farms with more than 50 other cattle.
Veneto also has a highly developed poultry sector, characterised by strong vertical integration of the supply chain, which places Veneto at the top of the regional rankings with almost 50% of production, and for production of turkey and chicken in particular. In 2009, production took another tentative step towards recovering the serious losses of previous years due to the bird-flu scare. Overall meat production in this sector in 2009 flew close to 500,000 tonnes, making for a turnover of more than 700 million euro, in slight decline on the previous year due to the falling prices of meat animals. We should also consider egg production, which was equal to 2 billion units for a turnover of 170 million euro. Almost half of poultry production is concentrated in the province of Verona (Figure 8.3.9).
Veneto is also Italy's leading producer of rabbit meat, with a share of 38% of the national total. In 2009, little more than 550 professional closed-cycle breeders, mainly in the province of Treviso, produced about 20 million meat rabbits for an estimated turnover of 90 million euro.
Veneto's pig sector concentrates on the production of heavy pigs destined for the DOP supply chain. Veneto's production of DOP pork meat is almost 8% of the national total, with 670,000 pigs going to the abattoir each year.
Irepa (Note 3) figures for the Veneto Region reveal that in the first six months of 2009, there was an increase of 19% in production and of 11% in turnover on the same period in 2008. However, figures for the whole of 2009 covering Veneto's seven regional fish markets suggest a fall on the previous year in value (-1.8%), but an overall stability in quantity. The province of Venezia recorded the biggest fall in produce passing through its markets, which ranged from -3.2% in Chioggia to -7.8% in Caorle. There were increases in production in Pila and Porto Viro in the province of Rovigo; Porto Viro is the only one that recorded an increase in both quantity (+16.7%) and in value (+3.2%) (Figure 8.3.10).
The produce passing through the fish markets considered amounted to 23,358 tonnes, for a value of 53 million euro; it accounted for 69% of the total quantity and 45% of the overall value in sales.
The falling trend in Veneto's fishing fleet continues, even though the decline is slowing in comparison to recent years: in 2009, Veneto had 783 boats on the EU's Fleet Register. The number of fish businesses was up 3% on 2008 for a total of 3,044 units. There was a particular increase in the number of fish farms (+5%) and a fair degree of stability in the number of professional fishing businesses. There were also 52 active businesses in the fish-product processing industry, and these were mainly concentrated in the provinces of Rovigo and Venezia; there were also 111 wholesalers, 514 retailers, of which 305 were market stalls.
In the third quarter of 2009, the value of imported fishing and fishery products stood at 155.5 million euro, while the value of Veneto's exports stood at 33.7 million euro, with a negative trade balance of 121.7 million euro (Figure 8.3.11).
Imports fell by 6% on the same period of the previous year, whereas exports slipped by 2.6%. In terms of value, Veneto accounts for 25.8% of national fish imports and 24% of its exports.