THE SANA OBSERVATORY: FOCUS ON THE ITALIAN ORGANIC SECTOR

<div style="text-align: justify;">This year, the SANA
Observatory, focusing on dynamics in the organic food chain in Italy (from farming to the processing
industry, from sales in specialised channels and in LOD to export), is organised by NOMISMA, the
private economic research institute known in Italy and in Europe for its analyses of the
agri&#8208;food sector. The report will be presented on 8 September during a conference starting at
3 PM, with the participation of speakers from Sinab (the national information service on organic
farming created by the Ministry for Agricultural, Food, and Forestry Policies), who will present
data on operators, surface areas, and organic farming products.<br>The Nomisma report, prepared with
the cooperation of Federbio (the Italian federation of organic farmers and operators), is based on
available data on the Italian organic chain, from farming to industry to market trends and
situations, and defines the economic context containing the profile of needs, preferences, and
buying habits of Italian consumers with regard to organic products.<br>Data from two Italian
institutions will be used to analyse the structure of the farm industry and the market trend (Sinab
for the first and ISMEA for the second), as well as the Fibl&#8208;IFOAM report for a comparison of
international scenarios.<br>On the other hand, the propensity of Italian consumers to buy organic
foods will emerge from a specific survey of 750 shoppers who buy food for their family. As part of
this survey, the buying habits of families will emerge from an analysis of data on a sample of at
least 400 buyers of organic products (identified from among the 750 total). Among the
socio&#8208;economic variables analysed will be geographic area, number of children, professional
status of family members, and purchasing power based on family income.<br>On the whole, the
Observatory’s goal is to examine the prospects of the organic sector in the current context, which,
due to the economic crisis, is showing the first signs of slowing in the food sector. Specifically,
the direct survey of food shoppers aims to identify and focus on the reasons for the positive trend
on the organic market that emerges from the institutional data.<br>In addition, in its analysis of
the chain, the Nomisma report will give unity, consistency, and continuity to all of the information
available on organic foods, with the addition of an original element: the acquisition of data that
fills an informational gap, with specific reference to exports of organic food products, given that,
statistically, organic flows are not separated from the total.<br>In this logic, the permanent
monitoring of a sample of export&#8208;oriented companies (primarily processing) will be launched in
order to understand, without delay, what operators expect from foreign markets (especially Europe,
the US, and Far East) and, therefore, what organic products are worth in the export section of Made
in Italy.<br><br>Source: SANA Press<br></div><br><br>