Italy: More foreigners investing in farms

although the Italian economy has been declining in recent years, Italian agriculture has bucked the trend. The analysis report on the agricultural situation in Italy shows that up to now, a total of 17286 foreigners have invested in Italian farms, a record high.

The editor learned from a recent report in the Italian media: Under the circumstances that the economic crisis has generally reduced the number of employed people in all walks of life, the number of employed people in Italian agriculture in 2012 increased by 3.6 over the previous year. Although the proportion of the total employed population in agriculture has declined from 11 per cent to 3.9 per cent in the past 30 years, agricultural output has accounted for 15 to 16 per cent of GDP and is on the rise.

Italy is located in the south of Europe, with plenty of sunshine. Its production of wine, olive oil, rice and wheat occupies an important position not only in Europe, but also in the world. Since the economic crisis in 2007, contrary to the downward trend of attracting foreign investment in Italy as a whole, its agricultural sector has become increasingly attractive to foreign investment. Switzerland became the largest country to invest in Italian agriculture, accounting for 16%, followed by Germany and France with 15% and 8% respectively. Among the farms purchased by foreign investment, Tuscany accounted for the most, accounting for 14%, followed by Sicily (13%) and Venetto (7%), all three regions are famous for wine production. It is understood that among the many farms that have been acquired, a winery named Chianti has been acquired by a Hong Kong pharmaceutical company. Chianti is a representative wine in Tuscany, and such a representative winery has been acquired. This is the first time.

Mario Guidi, president of the Italian Federation of Agriculture? Guidi said the number of students enrolled in university agricultural departments has increased by 30 percent in the last two years, and farmers have also begun to professionalize.

Despite good agricultural development, Italy, one of the world's largest wine producers, has continued to decline in domestic wine consumption per capita, reaching the lowest point since the country's unification in 1861. Michele Fino, a professor of Italian food studies, said that wine has become a hedonic consumer product and is no longer part of the daily diet of Italians, so it is vulnerable to short-term fluctuations in the economic environment. However, it is worth mentioning that the consumption of beer has doubled since the 1970 s. The decline in domestic consumption has prompted Italian wine producers to look to the international market. At present, half of Italy's wine is exported, while the United States and Germany are still the main markets for Italian wine. In addition, the Asian market also shows good prospects, with Italian wine exports to China increasing by 20% between 2011 and 2012.

The editor learned that in the past 10 years, the average size of Italian farms has expanded from 2.4 hectares to 7.9 hectares, and production has become increasingly concentrated on high-quality products. The number of Italian high-quality food certifications within the EU reached more than 240. In 2012, food exports reached 32 billion billion euros, an increase of 5.4 percent over the previous year.

Man of Feeding