Coldiretti’s alarm: we are also dependent on foreign countries for the typical dishes of Italian cuisine
The crisis in Ukraine, with the risk of an invasion by Russia, makes us jump almost 10% of the international price of wheat in just one week, with tensions on the food market and the risk of famine. This is what emerges from Coldiretti’s analysis on the trend in prices at Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) world reference point for agricultural raw materials, in reference to the meeting of the Russian leader Vladimir Putin with the main Italian economic operators active in the country. Ukraine – underlines Coldiretti – in addition to having one energy reserve for gas it has an important role also on the agricultural front with the production of approx 36 million tons of corn for animal feed (5th place in the world) e 25 million tons of soft wheat for the production of bread (7th place in the world). In particular, Russia is the main wheat exporter in the world while Ukraine is in third place, with the concern that the tensions between the two countries could block shipments from the Black Sea ports with a collapse of availability on the markets. which caused the price lists to soar, already at an all-time high with effects on inflation.
Italy imports 64% of its wheat needs
A world emergency that it directly concerns Italy which is a deficit country and actually imports 64% of its wheat needs for the production of bread and biscuits and in 2021 – reports Coldiretti – it imported over 120 million kilos of wheat fromUkraine and about 100 million pounds of wheat from the Russia which, moreover, has already announced that it will limit its wheat exports from 15 February to 30 June next. The emergency for Europe therefore extends from gas to agricultural products with i cereal prices that last year according to the latest FAO data reached in 2021 the highest annual level of the last ten years, with an average increase of 27.2% compared to 2020 with increases ranging from 44.1% for corn to + 31.3% for wheat. With the Covid pandemic – continues Coldiretti – a scenario of hoarding, speculation and uncertainty due to the effects of climate change has opened, which pushes the race of individual states to essential goods to guarantee the nutrition of the population. A situation that is triggering a new one short circuit on the agricultural sector that has already experienced the failures of the volatility of the price lists in a country like Italy which is heavily deficient in some sectors and needs a production and storage enhancement plan for the main commodities, from wheat to corn up to the expected national protein plan for feeding farmed animals to regain competitiveness with respect to foreign competitors.
Sowing costs for wheat production doubled
In Italy, also due to the expensive energy, the costs of sowing for the production of wheat have practically doubled as a result of price increases of over 50% for diesel necessary for working the land but also increasing the costs of agricultural vehicles, plant protection products and fertilizers which even triple, according to the analysis of Coldiretti that to overcome the crisis and look to the future it is necessary to increase production by creating virtuous supply chain with agreements that enhance the primates of Made in Italy to reply to question of Italianness of consumers in a situation in which the underpaid wheat to farmers in the last 4 years has gone from 543,000 hectares of soft wheat grown in Italy to the current just under 500,000 hectares for a production of about 2.87 million tons with increased dependence on abroad. “In the immediate future, it is necessary to ensure the financial sustainability of farms and stables so that the prices paid to farmers and breeders do not fall below the sharply increasing production costs due to the increase in the prices of raw materials also at the basis of animal feed such as corn ”Affirms the president of Coldiretti Ettore Prandini in specifying that “The NRP is essential to face the challenges of the ecological and digital transition and we are ready to make agriculture a protagonist by making the most of the over 6 billion euros available to overcome the present fragilities, defend food sovereignty and reduce dependence on abroad for procurement at a time of great international tensions “.
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