Lately, the Ministry of Agriculture in Italy published the official data regarding Italian production in 2020. Myplant & Garden, one of the leading trade fairs for professional horticulture in Italy, gives a snapshot of Italian horticulture and comments on the trends of the industry in 2020, reflects on 2021, and shares some challenges for 2022. In short, horticulture has been hit hard in 2020, but shows to be a resilient industry as the export of plants produced in Italy increased by 33% in the first trimester in 2021.
Horticulture production decreased in 2020
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the value of Italian production in 2020 has been 2.65 billion euro (which is 4.8% of production at base prices of Italian agriculture). This is 2.4% lower than in 2019 and when looking at the flowers and ornamental plants, they have shrunk by 3%, and nurseries by 1.9%.
“This is a factor we had already anticipated in January 2021, because of the consequences of the postponement of the trade fair and of lockdowns. The closing of distribution and retail channels in the horticulture industry, the destruction of significant amounts of perishable goods – around 60% of cut flowers, for instance – the restrictions concerning events and ceremonies have all played a significant role. The wedding industry had been valued 300 billion dollars in 2019, and it is now quickly recovering. Losses have been contained, and export has kept pace with the previous year.”
Italy confirms its role as an exporter
According to the statistics published by the Minister of Agriculture, the value of export at the production level has been 903 million euros. The trade balance is positive (+423 euro), which means that the exports exceed imports. And the positive balance can be referred to the outdoor plants (+310 million) that cover 43% of exports, followed by grapevine cuttings, fruit trees, and vegetables that amounted to 129 million euros. Cut foliage has been valued at 104 million euros with a balance close to 90 million euros. Horticulture plays an important role also in the complex exchange of agricultural edible goods, especially as far as their export is concerned, with a value of 13% on the total.
Main export countries
The majority of the Italian products go to the EU (84%). Around
60% of Italian export goes to France, Germany, The Netherlands, and United Kingdom. The Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain, and Poland, instead, are the main import markets for Italy, the statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture show.
Growth exports in first trimester 2021
Despite the horticulture production decreasing in 2020, Myplant shows that horticulture is a resilient industry with statistics from the first trimester of 2021. "Horticulture is among those industries that have been hit hard by the pandemic. However, it is also a sector that has shown good resilience qualities by registering a staggering 33% increase in the export of plants produced in Italy in the first trimester in 2021", states Myplant. "And it seems that Istat (Italian institute for statistics) is going to confirm this for the whole year of 2021."
Increase production costs
According to Myplant, the only menace for 2022 is the increase in production costs, which have risen up to 25% as far as packaging, energy, fertilizers, and transport expenses are concerned.
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Myplant & Garden
This year, Myplant & Garden is set to be held from February 23-25, 2022 in Milan, Italy. During the three days, over 700 exhibitors and operators in the garden industry will present their products and services.
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