«A certainly positive day, because the president of the ICE Zoppas had the opportunity to get to know a reality that by his own admission he did not know and for the suggestions and ideas that he brought us, as well as for the requests that were made to him from the various entrepreneurs he met. We will send him a document in which the strengths and problems of the District will be presented which the ICE will be able to take charge of or send them to the appropriate venues.”
This is what was declared yesterday evening by the president of the Ornamental Nursery District of Pistoia, prof. Francesco Ferrini, immediately after the meeting held at GEA between the president of ICE-Agency for the promotion abroad and the internationalization of Italian companies Matteo Zoppas and the major representatives of the District, at the end of a day of visits to some of the major nurseries in the District: Innocenti and Mangoni, Tesi Group and Vannucci Piante.
An initiative organized by the nursery district in collaboration with the Association of Italian Nurserymen (AVI), the District’s representative body, and with the undersecretary of state for agriculture, food sovereignty and forests Patrizio La Pietra and the mayor of Pistoia Alessandro Tomasi.
A document which, according to Undersecretary La Pietra who had suggested it during the meeting, should serve to «support the marketing and internationalization of the sector». Because, as he maintained, much of what has been achieved to date on the export front by the nursery district, which stands at around 75% in value of the district production and 40% of the national nursery export, is only the work of the entrepreneurs from Pistoia.
«Let’s think – said La Pietra – what could have happened if all this great work had also been accompanied by institutional management like the ICE? We would certainly have achieved even greater results.” «Now – added La Pietra – after this first fact-finding meeting in the area, and I believe it is the first time that an ICE president has personally come to visit the Pistoia district system, we will be able to try to give a greater impulse».
As stated by the president of the ICE Agency Matteo Zoppas in his speech before the major representatives of the District, including the president of AVI Alessandro Michelucci, and at the top of the provincial agricultural trade associations, «even though the ICE is already working with you , having experienced this reality first-hand thanks to today’s road show, will allow us to better understand and contribute to your sector”.
There are two main functions of the ICE with its network of 80 offices in 64 countries, Zoppas recalled: the promotion or “story” of Made in Italy in all sectors, including the horticultural sector, and the international development of companies. The latter function translates into missions abroad or the organization of incoming foreign buyers here, in addition to all the activity during trade fairs.
Each ICE office, he explained, has a director, trade analysts and lists of potential customers organized according to Ateco codes. Every company can register for free with ICE and can request customized lists of potential buyers for a fee. Naturally this implies, on the part of companies, a study and understanding of the “instruction booklet” on the functioning of the ICE system, which is interconnected with the embassy and consulate system.
During the meeting, the president of Confagricoltura Pistoia Luca Magazzini and then also the director of Coldiretti Pistoia Francesco Ciarrocchi highlighted the investments made by the nursery district in terms of sustainability and the circular economy and asked if the ICE can help to convey this productive turning point. While the president of Cia Toscana Centro Sandro Orlandini focused on the interest of even small nursery companies in making use of ICE services, perhaps during trade fairs. Both Ciarrocchi and the president of AVI Alessandro Michelucci also asked for support on problems in exporting to certain outlet markets or due to geopolitical problems or obstacles linked to phytosanitary controls.
Zoppas responded by recalling that ICE helps supply meet demand and does not produce content, but that undoubtedly “the watchword today is sustainability”, which opens the doors to all markets, so if there are communications from the District to this effect «we will highlight them». Regarding the specific difficulties encountered in exporting to certain outlet markets, he invited us to draw up a precise list of problems and priorities and explained that in general there are more possibilities of intervening promptly in the case of specific discriminatory treatments towards our country compared to other European countries, rather than when it comes to blockades towards the entire European Union. In any case, in many cases these are interventions that require the assistance of the Farnesina with its network of embassies and consulates.
«I am sure that our structure – declared the president of ICE after the end of the meeting – is already in contact and works with this nursery sector in Pistoia, which is an excellence at an Italian and also international level. Seeing that almost 80% of the product is exported makes us understand how important the international market is for this sector. I believe that further attention must be given to it in order to be able to create structural solutions and a greater quality of the work we do, which is already good but which we must align with the needs of entrepreneurs. So today there were many ideas that I hope we will be able to capitalize on in a short time.”
Source: Rural Ornamental Nursery District of Pistoia
