What has the greatest impact on this value is not so much the increase in production but rather the general increase in market prices due to world economic instability caused by a series of factors such as the war in Ukraine, the increase in production costs and energy, inflation, etc.
As a consequence, the 2022 agricultural year in Veneto records good performances for both herbaceous (10.9%) and woody (29.1%) crops, while the livestock sector shows a decline in the quantities produced, offset however precisely by the increase market prices, with the value of production estimated to increase by 18.1%.
"In Veneto - underlines the President of the Veneto Region , Luca Zaia , on the occasion of the publication of the Veneto Agriculture Report on the performance of the Veneto agricultural sector in 2022 - we have over 83,000 farms, 7.3% of all farms We can proudly say that today it is mostly young people who represent the sector, with an important contribution to innovation, also made up of digitization and computerization, in a sector sometimes considered only linked to the more traditional and mechanical aspects of crops. Instead, today competitiveness passes through innovation : the value in the agricultural production markets is in fact also given by the ability of companies to "tell" the product, in all its aspects. Sustainability, ecology, organoleptic properties, but also that intangible heritage and extraordinary that links the products of the Veneto with its own history.That peasant civilization that has been able to look to the future m holding on to their roots. And here is what can be considered an exceptional result if not a miracle: in 2022 Veneto agriculture was able to generate a production value of around 7.7 billion euros, a value never achieved before, an increase of around 18% compared to 2021. A great result made up of young people, female entrepreneurship, stories of courage and innovation".
For his part, the Councilor for Agriculture of the Veneto Region , Federico Caner , speaking at the press conference, recalled that "the numbers of the entire agricultural sector in the Veneto tell of the tenacity and resilience capacity of entrepreneurs and supply chains that have never given up in the face of the difficulties of the last two years.The pandemic, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, climate change.Three challenges that have seriously undermined the stability of the sector, but have not affected the growth of gross agricultural production, which in 2022 has reached a value of 7.7 billion euros. A result achieved also thanks to the contribution of the Region, which has always supported the active Veneto agricultural enterprises and its 76,000 employees from a financial, strategic and operational point of view. represent an important support to the primary sector.In the 2023-2027 programming of the CAP we will have around 500 million available per year, import quota ante that will fuel the competitiveness of our agricultural businesses, increasingly oriented towards sustainability and innovation. Now the real challenge is also to protect all our products, so that 'Made in Veneto' does not remain just a nice slogan on paper, but becomes a real brand capable of communicating and ensuring the quality and authenticity of what is good and healthy is produced in our territory".
Let us now see in detail the main results achieved in the first nine months of 2022 by the various sectors of Veneto agriculture, presented this morning by Alessandra Liviero, head of the Agri-food Economic Observatory of Veneto Agricoltura , on the occasion of the first day of "Fieragricola Tech" in course today and tomorrow in Verona, attended by the regional councilor for agriculture, Federico Caner, and the director of the regional agency, Nicola Dell'Acqua .
Cereals : the year was certainly positive for autumn-winter cereals, given that the hectares of soft wheat (96,000 ha, 1%), durum wheat (19,400 ha, 34%) and barley (21,500 ha) increased , 20.4%). On the other hand, yields were down, offset however by the increase in cultivated areas, with the exception of soft wheat whose production is estimated to be down (-5.5%). A "no" year for spring-sown cereals which had to deal with the bad summer weather: for grain maize, cultivated areas fell (143,000 hectares, -3%) and above all yields (7.1 t /ha, -29.6%). The price increase (37%) only partially offset the reduction in production (1 million tons, -31.7%).
Industrial crops: 2022 was also characterized by a generalized increase in prices for these productions, however the year was negative in terms of production. The areas cultivated with soy increased (5.3%), but yields dropped significantly (2.4 t/ha, -19%) and consequently production (360,000 tons, -15%). The hectares of sunflowers are on the increase (4,200 ha, 9.4%) and those cultivated with rapeseed are decreasing (3,600 ha, -17%). Negative year for sugar beet which saw a reduction in surfaces (7,000 ha, -21.4%) and above all yields (46.4 t/ha, -24%). Tobacco also recorded a reduction in both investments (3,000 ha, -27%) and production (-20%), and in this case the price increase did not offset the increase in production costs, compromising profitability of the culture.
Vegetables: investments held up and slight increases were recorded for potatoes (3,500 ha, 1.4%), radicchio (4,650 ha, 2%), lettuce (1,100 ha, 2.6%) and strawberries ( 370 ha, 2%); higher increases for asparagus (1,830 ha, 4%), courgette (1,570, 10.5%), garlic (14.5%). On the other hand, the areas cultivated with melons (-13.6%), carrots (-8.4%), green beans (-16.8%) and watermelons (-12.8%) are decreasing.
Fruit trees: excellent year for all productions, with yields significantly up on the unfortunate 2021 season: apple (71.4%), pear (415.6%), peach (669.6%), kiwi (327.3% ), cherry (52.8%) and olive (495%). The unit prices have had fluctuating variations, while the areas dedicated to orchards are decreasing by about 3% at the regional level.
Viticulture : the vineyard area in the Veneto region is still growing (95,910 ha, 2%), of which over 83% concerns areas in Doc/Docg zones, while that of Igt drops to 13.7%. Overall, 15 million quintals of grapes were produced in 2022 in Veneto (7.4%) equal to 12.6 million hectoliters of wine (7.3% compared to 2021). The price of the grapes was stable (0.76 €/kg, 0.7%).
Dairy: milk production is down (about 12 million quintals, -1.3%), as is the number of farms (2,800). The average annual price of milk was 45.8 €/hl (excluding VAT and premiums), with an increase of 24% compared to the previous year.
Zootechnics: the sector is suffering the effects of the sharp increase in energy and food costs with an important impact on the prices of the original quotations and also on production. For beef, the Veneto is characterized by the production of beef veal and partly by veal with white meat. Production is estimated to drop by 3.5%. The number of meat farms is stable at around 6,000 units. The production of pork, concentrated in the provinces of Verona and Treviso, places Veneto among the regions of the high quality IGP/DOP supply chain. However, in 2022 production was reduced to 779.5 thousand heads, of which around 690 thousand were fat (-2%), around 7.5% of the national total.
Veneto's agri-food trade balance: after three years of positive sign, the balance in the first nine months of 2022 turned negative again, amounting to around -690 million euros, against 140 million euros in the same period of 2021. provisional considering that it refers to the first three quarters of 2022, was the sharp increase in imports (32.4%) compared to the growth in exports (15.1%). The causes of these negative results must be sought in the increase in the prices of agricultural raw materials and energy costs which have distorted the positive trends recorded in the Veneto region in recent years.
The Report "First assessments on the trend of the Veneto agri-food sector 2022" can be downloaded from the following link: https://bit.ly/3WSS5oF
