Paper Example on Italian Meat Industry

Introduction

Italy, in Europe, is the third largest producer of beef after France and Germany. Of the 65,000 billion (VL) gross salable production of agriculture, animal husbandry represents 38% with 25,000 billion (VL), of which 10,000 billion (VL) for dairy livestock, 5,800 billion (VL) of cattle, 4,000 billion (VL) of pigs, 3,500 billion (VL) of poultry, other livestock production provides 2,000 billion (VL). The crisis in beef consumption seems to be moving towards resolution. After the encouraging results of the end of last year, the first three months of 2018 confirm the good performance. This is reported by ISMEA, the Institute of Services for the agricultural food market, in the Trends report for the January-March quarter of the current year.

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In this period, an increase in the quantities purchased was recorded of 2.5% on an annual basis and an even more marked increase in spending with + 5% due to an increase in prices and changed purchasing habits. Consumers are increasingly turning towards the finest meats (breeds of premium meats fattened in Italian stalls).

Total fresh meat consumption rose by 1.6%. And not only has beef benefited from this positive trend, but also pig meat and poultry; in contrast, instead, the consumption of rabbit meat (-4.9%), an "unstoppable" phenomenon is defined by the experts of Ismea.

Furthermore, consumers' preferences are being directed towards products bred and slaughtered in Italy. In 2017, the Italian cattle stock remained stable (+ 0.3%) with a slight decline in the dairy herd (-0.5%) and an increase in that destined to produce meat (+ 1.8%). The number of suckler cows is unchanged, a figure that does not favor the improvement of the self-sufficiency rate (still at 52%), while the presence of male calves between 1 and 2 years' increases, underlining how fattening is the activity that grows in Italian farms.

Prices remain high on local farms: for livestock, the level remains above that of last year (above 2%). For the price index of the means of production, in the first quarter of 2018, an increase was reported for feed (+ 14%), above all for protein meal, and a less evident recovery for energy products (+ 3% on 2017).

A historic turnaround in the Italian meat market: in fact, Italian household spending in 2018 increased by over 5%, a higher value than the last six years characterized by a sharp drop in consumption. The increase in consumption regards all the different types of meat, from poultry (+ 4%) to pork (+ 4%) to beef (+ 5%) which shows the highest increase in the first quarter compared to previous year, in a context of substantial stagnation in food expenditure (+ 1.4%). The average annual consumption in Italy of meat (chicken, pig, cattle, sheep) has fallen to levels of 7 kilograms per person of apparent consumption (gross of bones, fats, skin, etc.), among the lowest in Europe, where the Danes are at 109.8 kilograms, the Portuguese at 101 kilograms, the Spaniards at 99.5 kilograms, the French and the Germans at 85.8 and 86 kilograms. And the situation does not change if the comparison is made at an international level since, according to the US Department of Agriculture, in 2018 the average American consumer will eat 222.2 pounds of red meat and poultry. In the Italian market, there is a decisive turn towards quality with 45% of Italians favoring meat from Italian farms, 29% choose local products and 20% rely on PDO, PGI or other certifications of origin. The demand for quality and guarantee of origin has led to a real boom in the breeding of Italian historical breeds that, after risking extinction, have returned to repopulate the Apennines to the Alps. The Piedmontese breed, with the historical Community recognition of the 'Vitelloni Piemontesi Della Coscia' with Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), is the most widespread and can count on over 315 thousand garments while more than 52 thousand are those of the Marches race, almost 46 thousand of Chianina, 12 thousand of Romagna, 11 thousand of Maremma and more than 35 thousand Podolica for a total of over 472 thousand animals bred. The result is a revolution in the offer of meat in Italy that extends from butchers to supermarkets, from food to hamburgers, until the arrival of the meat menu in the menus offered by the most prestigious restaurants.

In the Italian market there is a decisive turn towards quality with 45% of Italians favoring meat from Italian farms, 29% choose local products and 20% rely on PDO, PGI or other certifications of origin. The demand for quality and guarantee of origin has led to a real boom in the breeding of Italian historical breeds that, after risking extinction, have returned to repopulate the Apennines to the Alps. The Piedmontese breed, with the historical Community recognition of the 'Vitelloni Piemontesi della Coscia' with Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), is the most widespread and can count on over 315, 000 garments while more than 52, 000 are those of the Marches race, almost 46, 000 of Chianina, 12, 000 of Romagna, 11, 000 of Maremma and more than 35, 000 Podolica for a total of over 472, 000 animals bred. In 2016 the incidence of the beef cattle sector on agriculture was 5.9%, while the beef industry - characterized by a turnover of 5,870 million euro - had an impact of 4.3% on the food industry. This is what emerges from the sector report for beef published by ISMEA (Institute of Services for the Agricultural Food Market), according to which last year the decline in per capita consumption of beef was also halted, which in 10 years is passed from 25 to 17 Kg.

The result is a revolution in the offer of meat in Italy that extends from butchers to supermarkets, from street food to hamburgers, until the arrival of the meat card in the menus offered by the most prestigious restaurants. The knowledge of the specific characteristics of the different types of meat has become an added value that enriches the food and wine offer in catering. A request for transparency that must be met by extending the obligation to indicate the origin on the tables of the different forms of out-of-home catering, where more than a third of food consumption is now concentrated, underlines the president of Coldiretti Roberto Moncalvo of origin for meat is currently only for retail trade.

Overview of the Market for Meat Products

According to the data of the National Observatory on Meat Consumption, each Italian in 2016 ate on average 79 kg of meat: the majority is pork (37 kg), followed by the beef (21 kg) and the poultry (19 kg). The remaining part (2kg) is of different animals such as rabbit and horse. If this figure is the lowest in Europe, on the other hand, Denmark is on the other hand with 109.8 kg, Portugal with 101 kg and Spain with 99.5 kg. The French and German diet is also much richer in meat than ours, with an annual per capita consumption of 85.8 and 86 kg respectively. According to the research, the consumption of Italian meat, typical of the Mediterranean diet, besides being of quality "is also far below, about half, of the quantities identified as potentially risky by the World Health Organization".

Consumption recovering in February - In general, 16 million Italians in 2016 reduced their consumption of meat. In particular, the consumption of beef fell, with a decrease of 5% which follows -6% in 2015. Overall, the consumption of daily meat has dropped, on average, by 85 grams. Nevertheless, the month of February 2017 marked a recovery, favored by price dynamics: compared to a year ago consumption grew by 14% for beef, 10% for cured meat and 8% for pork. Turning to the analysis of individual products, in 2016 consumption fell especially for frankfurters (-16.4%), canned meat (-9.9%), red meat (-2.8%) and raw ham (-2.4%). On the other hand, fresh rabbit preparations (+ 3%) and poultry (+ 1.1%) improve. Much of the meat consumed in Italy, also reports the Observatory, comes from abroad: 33% of the total. That is almost 40% of the beef and 35% of the pork, while for the white meat the market is largely based on national production. The main countries from which meat is imported are France, Poland, and Holland. Since 2010 they have closed more than 12 thousand livestock: 8,7 million pigs, 6.1 million beef cattle, and 6.5 million rabbits are reared in the national stables.

As for the supply from abroad, in 2017 Italy imported 7 thousand tons of fresh beef less than in 2016 (-2.2%). Among the main supplier countries, there is a change between Poland and France. The c...