How does Piemonte perform in these Covid Times. It\\\'s really time to illustrate with figures

As explained in a study published by Intesa Sanpaolo in October entitled 'Impact of Covid-19 in the wine sector in Piedmont and starting points for a new start', in the first six months of 2020 in Italy, turnover in the beverage sector fell by 11.4% compared with the first half of 2019, mainly influenced by the significant falls in the domestic market (-15.6%). Foreign turnover, on the other hand, fell slightly (-1.8%). In this context, after an increase of 6.2% in the first quarter, Italian wine exports closed the first six months of the year with a negative balance (-3.4%).

For Piedmont, the fall over the six-month period was slightly less intense than the Italian average (-2.1%), but by April it had fallen to -40%. Returning to the analysis of the six-month period, the decline in the districts of Langhe, Roero and Monferrato was more pronounced (-4.7%).

A situation that could worsen in the second half of the year, depending of course on the pandemic trend. The only regional data against the trend relate to beverage exports, which grew significantly in two main markets in the first half of 2020: the United States (+ EUR 20 million) and Russia (+ EUR 10 million), unlike Italian wines, which have suffered setbacks in these areas. However, the situation is upside down, given exports to France: a fall for Piedmont and a fall for Italian wines.

These figures are intended to change the world of local wine, at least in the way it is presented: no longer as an unchanging market destined for progressive growth, but as a world which, like all the others, is subject to the fragility of the environment, the emotions and the impact of human activity on ecology, society, the economy and health.

A great first in Piedmont, both for production and for export

The world of wine in Italy has undergone enlargements and contractions in recent years, empty and full, traumas and delicacies that have fundamentally changed its face. In fact, it is enough to think that, in 1986, the hectolitres produced were 77 million, for an added value of EUR 1.3 billion, whereas today, the hectolitres produced are almost 50 million (35% less) for an added value of EUR 4.3 billion (more than three times as much). As a result of drawing attention to the area, it appears that Cuneo reduced the area under vines by almost 10% in the years between 2006 and 2019. Nevertheless, in Piedmont, Granda is on the list of provinces in terms of both production and exports, followed by Asti and Alessandria. In 2019, in particular, the province produced 997 thousand quintals worth a thousand million euros in exports.

The wine district of Langhe and Roero is the one that exports the most, doubling the value of goods sent abroad in the last ten years and ranks third in Italy and first in Piedmont for both production and exports.

The world of wine in Italy has undergone enlargements and contractions in recent years, empty and full, traumas and delicacies that have fundamentally changed its face. In fact, it is enough to think that, in 1986, the hectolitres produced were 77 million, for an added value of EUR 1.3 billion, whereas today, the hectolitres produced are almost 50 million (35% less) for an added value of EUR 4.3 billion (more than three times as much). As a result of drawing attention to the area, it appears that Cuneo reduced the area under vines by almost 10% in the years between 2006 and 2019. Nevertheless, in Piedmont, Granda is on the list of provinces in terms of both production and exports, followed by Asti and Alessandria. In 2019, in particular, the province produced 997 thousand quintals worth a thousand million euros in exports.

The Langhe and Roero wine region is the one that exports the most, doubling the value of goods sent abroad in the last ten years and ranks third in Italy after Prosecco di Conegliano -Valdobbiadene and Montepulciano d'Abruzzo wines. The wines of Langhe, Roero and Monferrato have also grown strongly in the short term: between 2018 and 2019, exports increased by 12.5%, a growth rate that only applies to wines and distillates from Brescia. Today, however, the sector is undergoing a period of profound change. The economist of Intesa Sanpaolo Romina Galleri explained: "Exports in the first six months of 2020 fell by 4.7% compared to the first six months of 2019. It will be necessary to wait for the companies' balance sheet data in order to know how their turnover will be. However, we expect a decrease as a result of the coronavirus'.

Galleri: "Therefore, those who have made the choice to protect the environment will survive in the future.

Wines from Langhe and Roero: a myth cracking 2

Romina Galleri, economist of the Intesa Sanpaolo Studies Directorate.

We are talking to Romina Galleri, economist of the Department of Studies and Research of the Intesa Sanpaolo Bank.

An important point of interpretation suggested in your study is that of supply chain cooperation. Does this mean that the path of mutual, individualistic and self-referential competition is going into the sunset?

"Competition can encourage companies to improve, to invest and to come up with new products and solutions in order to differentiate themselves and achieve benefits. But it is precisely in a hyper-competitive international context that the creation of cooperation and synergies upstream and downstream of one's own territorial supply chain can be beneficial, both for larger companies guaranteeing themselves as suppliers (or rather as solid partners), and for small and micro-enterprises, which can thus be more easily integrated into foreign markets, where size matters, without losing their specificity. Italian companies are still small compared to their French competitors and, in this perspective, supply chain cooperation strategies can provide a valid response, without sacrificing biodiversity and the small scale of niche production, which in this sector is more than a border, it is an expression of liveliness".

On the subject of ecology. Organic farms are better than non-organic ones. What does this mean? Are those who have no respect for the environment destined to fall behind?

"It means that the issue of ecological sustainability and respect for nature is becoming more and more central. The shift towards quality leads to a reduction in the consumption of raw materials, energy and emissions and also pays for itself in terms of the profitability of companies. We have been supporting it for many years, now we can prove it with figures: the results of a comparison between a sample of 300 Italian wineries with organic certification and a group of companies with similar characteristics, but without certification, show that between 2008 and 2018 the increase in turnover for organic farms was 66%, compared to 28% for traditional farms. At the same time, organic certified farms improved, albeit slightly, their profitability (the Ebitda margin increased from 8 to 8.2%), while farms without certification saw a decrease in this indicator. Between 2008 and 2018, the Ebitda of certified companies recorded an overall increase (in value) of 75%, compared to 45% for "non-organic" companies: a truly remarkable result".