Exports, food safety, innovation, and the promotion of Made in Italy take center stage at the annual meeting
Eighty years of history, an industry with a production value of over 9.6 billion euros and exports totaling 2.5 billion euros to 136 countries. These are some of the figures that emerged during the annual ASS.I.CA. meeting — held as part of the European project “Trust Your Taste, CHOOSE EUROPEAN QUALITY” — which celebrated the association’s 80th anniversary on June 18 in Rome with a discussion on the future of the Italian cured meat industry, focusing on competitiveness, food safety, sustainability, and access to international markets.
The proceedings were opened by ASS.I.CA. President Lorenzo Beretta and moderated by Giorgio Dell’Orefice, a journalist for Il Sole 24 Ore (photo). «The value of our sector’s production has exceeded 9 billion 650 million euros, and today we export to 136 countries. This achievement was made possible by our ability to work as a unified system and collectively tackle technical, regulatory, and health barriers that individual companies could not overcome on their own» stated Lorenzo Beretta, highlighting the sector’s extraordinary international growth over the past few decades. «In the 1950s, exports of Italian cured meats were worth about 2 billion lire. Today, they exceed 2.5 billion euros and represent one of the most significant expressions of ‘Made in Italy’ in the global agri-food sector».
Lorenzo Beretta also drew attention to the main critical issues facing the sector: «African swine fever, energy costs, and uncertainties related to international trade represent the most significant challenges to the competitiveness of our companies».
During the meeting, Francesco Lollobrigida, Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty, and Forestry, also addressed the gathering via video message, outlining the main measures introduced by the government to support the agri-food and livestock sectors.
The need to base public debate on scientific evidence was the focus of the remarks by the assembly’s international guest, Thanawat Tiensin, Director of Production and Animal Health at the FAO: «We need policies based on data, not emotions. All too often, the livestock sector is portrayed solely through a negative lens. The reality is that animal agriculture is a fundamental part of the solution to the challenges of global food security» said Tiensin.
The second part of the meeting was devoted to a roundtable discussion involving representatives from government institutions and the industry: Davide Calderone, Director of Assica; Alfredo Conte, Deputy Director General for Europe and International Trade Policy at MAECI; Federico Eichberg, Chief of Staff at MIMIT; Giovanni Filippini, Special Commissioner for African Swine Fever and Director General of Animal Health at the Ministry of Health; and Eleonora Iacovoni, Director General for Agri-Food Quality at MASAF.
The meeting concluded with a remark by President Lorenzo Beretta on the role of the younger generations. «We have a Youth Group that is increasingly active and well-prepared. They will be the ones to take up the torch and tackle the challenges of sustainability, innovation, and digital transformation».
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