Bio Bank Report 2009: direct sales are on the rise

The door is still wide open for organic products in Italy. The Bio Bank Report 2009, which has recently been published in the 15th edition of Tutto Bio, has revealed that relationships between the operators in the organic sector and consumers are increasingly important, with direct sales in various forms dominating the sector. Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany are confirmed as the three leaders in terms of absolute numbers of operators, with Lombardy overtaking Emilia-Romagna for the first time.

The report is based on annual surveys carried out by Bio Bank of thousands of organic operators in Italy. In 2008, more than 7000 operators were surveyed and categorized into eight types of businesses: holiday farms, farm-gate sales, purchasing groups, farmers’ markets, school canteens, restaurants, specialized stores and E-commerce sites. Two different analyses, both region by region, were performed: one for absolute numbers of operators, and one for the number of operators per 100,000 inhabitants. This made it possible to draw a meaningful and complete map of the organic sector in Italy. The development of the industry is illustrated by analyzing the changes in the absolute figures for 2006 to 2008.
 

In spite of the economic crisis, consumers in Italy are not inclined to give up organic products. In fact, they consider it increasingly important to know the origin of the products they buy, how they are processed and the whole story of the food they put on their tables. From the small companies’ point of view, finding a direct distribution channel is their best way of building a stable, profitable business. Various forms of direct sales are growing: there are about 500 purchasing groups – this number grew by 66 % in three years; almost 2000 farm gate sales - which increased by 47 % in the same period; online purchases at 110 E-commerce sites -  an increase of 39 %, and about 1200 holiday farms, representing a growth rate of 40 %. (Picture: cows at Regional Parc Migliarino San Rossore Massaciuccoli)
 

The data of more than 7000 organic operators in Italy are published in the yearbook Tutto Bio 2009: 1943 farm-gate sales outlet are listed, 1178 holiday farms, 208 farmers’ markets, 495 purchasing groups, 1114 shops, 11 brands of supermarkets, 6 online supermarkets, 360 restaurants, 16 catering companies, 791 school cafeterias, 110 E-commerce sites, 100 Fair Trade companies, 15 certification bodies, 6 certification bodies for cosmetics, 132 associations for organic products, 33 organic fairs, 177 books and regular publications and 91 publications for organic products and cosmetics.
 

In terms of absolute numbers of operators, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany were in the lead. Three points were given for each first place which was achieved, two points for the second, and one for the third. Lombardy, which has surpassed Emilia-Romagna with a total of 14 points for the first time, achieved four first positions for the number of purchasing groups, farmers’ markets, shops and restaurants. One-in-four to one-in-six of these four categories of operators are located in Lombardy. Emilia-Romagna came in second place with twelve points, with the only gold for school cafeterias, silver for restaurants, holiday farms, direct sales and farmers markets, and bronze for E-Commerce sites. The region continues to be the only one of the three regions to feature six categories of operators, confirming a widespread presence of organic operators. Tuscany achieved nine points, with the first place for the number of farm-gate sales, the second for purchasing groups and the third for canteens. (Picture: Olive groves at Vinci in Tuscany)
 

The ranking changes, however, when we consider the regions that have the largest number of operators per 100,000 inhabitants. It is headed by Umbria that, with 11 points, dominated the list with three first places (for direct sales, holiday farms and E-commerce sites) and a second place for farmers’ markets.The points score is equal to that of Valle d'Aosta, that is the market leader for shops and E-commerce sites, in second place for farmers’markets and restaurants, and in third place for purchasing groups. Marche, with 9 points, is in the lead regarding restaurants and in second place for farm-gate sales, holiday farms and purchasing groups. If we analyze the changes in the absolute figures, we can see how the organic industry in Italy has developed between 2006 and 2008. It is mainly the number of short-chain activities that have increased over the last three years (2006 to 2008), with double digits growth rates:
 

Purchasing groups + 66 % from 288 to 479
Farm gate sales + 47 % from 1324 to 1943
Holiday farms + 40 % from 839 to 1178
E-commerce websites + 39 % from 79 to 110
School cafeterias + 20 % from 658 to 791
Restaurants + 12 % from 177 to 199 (holiday farms not included)
Farmers’ markets  + 8 % from 193 to 208
Shops + 2% from 1094 to 1114
 

Purchasing groups are still mainly concentrated in northern Italy (262 or 61 % of the total), followed by central Italy with 139 purchasing groups (29 % of the total), while in the south and on the islands there are 48 groups (10 %). In Lombardy alone, 118 purchasing groups are to be found, followed by 68 in Tuscany and by Piedmont with 56. Regarding density, Tuscany and Marche play the most important role with 1.8 purchasing groups per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Liguria (1.5) and Piedmont (1.3), while the national average is 0.8. Farm-gate sales increased by 47 % - from 1,324 in 2006 to 1,943 in 2008. 924 of these are organic farms, and 1,019 are holiday farms. This type of product distribution has, unlike others, a considerable spread throughout the entire country: 813 operators are active in the north of the country, 42 % of the total, 614 in central of Italy (32 %) and 516 in southern Italy and on the islands (26 %). The largest absolute number of farms is found in Tuscany (302), followed by Emilia-Romagna with 292 and Marche with 135. This ranking changes if we consider the number of farm-gate sales in relation to the number of inhabitants: Umbria holds the first place with 10 outlets per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Emilia-Romagna with almost 9 and Tuscany with 8. The national average is 3 farm-gate sales per 100,000 inhabitants. (Picture: DiVaira in Molise)

Holiday farms rose by 40% from 839 in 2006 to 1,178 in 2008. They are mainly located in central Italy with 522 (more than 44 % of the total), followed by northern Italy with 379 (more than 32 %), and southern Italy and the islands with 277 (23 %). The position of Tuscany as the queen of hospitality is confirmed by its 259 holiday farms, followed by Emilia-Romagna with 151 and Marche with the 126. Leaders in terms of the number of companies per 100,000 inhabitants are Umbria with 9.5 points (national average: 2), followed by Marche (8) and Tuscany (7).  E-commerce sites offering some organic products or a fully organic range grew by 39 % from 79 sites in 2006 to 110 in 2008. This form of marketing is mainly used by 42 operators in the south and on the islands (38 % of the total), followed closely by the north with 40 sites (36 %) and central Italy with 28 (26 %). In absolute figures, the three leading regions are Puglia with 17 sites, followed by Sicily with 13 and Emilia-Romagna with 12. In relation to the number of inhabitants, Umbria and Valle d'Aosta are in the lead with an index of 0.8 sites per 100,000 inhabitants (compared with the national average of 0.2), followed by Molise and Basilicata (0.6 and 0.5 respectively).

The number of organic school cafeterias rose from 658 in 2006 to 791 in 2008, an increase of 20 %. Most organic school cafeterias can be found in the north of the country (560 or 71 % of the total), while central Italy has 158 (20 %) and the south and the islands have 73 (9 %). Emilia-Romagna remains the most important province for school cafeterias (146), followed by Lombardy (143) and Tuscany with 84. Friuli-Venezia Giulia has the highest density, with about 6 school cafeterias per 100,000 inhabitants (the national average is 1.3), followed by Trentino-Alto Adige with about 4 and 'Emilia-Romagna with about 3. Excluding organic farms with restaurants, the number of restaurants increased from 177 in 2006 to 199 in 2008. Most of the restaurants can also be found in the north (109 or 55 % of the total), followed by the centre of the country with 69 (35 %) and the south and the islands with 21 (10 %). With 36 restaurants, Lombardy leads the field in absolute figures, followed by Emilia-Romagna (33), and Marche and Lazio, each with 23 restaurants. In Marche, there are 1.5 restaurants per 100,000 inhabitants – the national average is 0.3, followed by Valle d'Aosta and Emilia-Romagna with around 0.8.
 

Farmers’ markets also gained in importance with a rise from 193 in 2006 to 208 in 2008. 148 farmers’ markets are located in the north (71 % of the total), followed by central Italy with 48 (23 %), and by the south and the islands with 12 (6 %). Lombardy has most farmers’ markets offering organic products (36), followed by Emilia-Romagna (33) and Veneto (29). The regions where more markets per inhabitant can be found are Trentino-Alto Adige, with one for every 100,000 inhabitants. The national average is 0.3. Specialized trade also increased - while 1,094 stores could be found in Italy in 2006, the number increased to 1,114 in 2008. Again the north has got the lion's share with 735 stores (66 % of the total), followed by the centre of the country with 231 (21 %) and the south and the islands with 148 (13 %). Lombardy leads the field again in absolute figures with 189 stores, representing 17 % of the total, followed by Piedmont with 149 stores and Veneto with 145. Valle d'Aosta has, however, the highest number of stores in relation to population (5.6 per 100,000 inhabitants, compared with a national average of 1.9), followed by Trentino-Alto Adige with 5.2 and Friuli-Venezia Giulia with 3.8. (Picture: NaturaSì)
 

"Bio, Eco, Ethics: To Have or To Be?" is the theme chosen for this year's edition of Tutto Bio, quoting the title of a famous book by Erich Fromm, to reflect together on unsustainable greed and the need to be in harmony with the world and its inhabitants. Articles are published by Wendell Berry, a master of environmental and rural thinking, Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank, Serge Latouche, economist and philosopher, Luca Mercalli, climatologist, Helena Norberg-Hodge, ecologist and philosopher, Carlo Petrini, founder of the Slow Food movement, Karl-Ludwig Schibel, coordinator of the Alliance for Climate Italy, and Vandana Shiva, scientist and environmentalist (picture).
 

www.biobank.it.