Adnkronos Rome, November 8 (Adnkronos) – Italy reaffirms its position as Europe's leading tobacco producer, both in terms of value and quantity, driven by increasingly sustainable cultivation methods that represent a driver of economic development for the affected regions, with a role widely recognized by local governments. This is one of the insights emerging from the research by the Centro Studi Divulga on "Key Figures of Supply Chain Agreements: Between Real and Perception," presented at the Coldiretti Village in Bologna.
Italy produces one-third of Europe's entire tobacco production, with approximately 11,000 hectares of cultivated land. This produces approximately 34 million kg of tobacco annually, almost entirely from Veneto, Umbria, Campania, and Tuscany, employing 45,000 people in the various stages of the supply chain. Italy also stands out for its high levels of productivity, the result of greater production and technological capacity and the high levels of modernization that characterize the production chain.
An economic and employment asset that over the past thirteen years has weathered the contraction in production (an average of approximately 5%) by adopting supply chain agreements. One example is the recently renewed agreement between Coldiretti, Philip Morris Italia, and Ont Italia, which will see a total investment of €2034 billion, aimed at strengthening sustainability, innovation, and long-term strategic planning. The agreement, considered a best practice for the sector, enables more effective planning, investments in ecological and digital innovation, training, and generational turnover. Precisely for this reason, despite a general reduction in production volumes, the companies participating in the agreement have maintained their stability.
The importance of the supply chain for the local communities is also confirmed by a survey by the Ixe' Institute, which analyzed the level of awareness, perceptions, and expectations of this agreement among local institutions. Two out of three mayors of tobacco-producing municipalities consider the agreement very or fairly positive, but none rate it negatively. The benefits of the agreement most anticipated by administrators include maintaining local employment, supporting innovation and environmental sustainability, and improving production quality.
The survey therefore highlights how supply chain agreements should not be considered mere agricultural planning tools, but rather strategic levers capable of strengthening local communities' vitality, consolidating social cohesion, and charting new development paths.
Looking to the future, the challenge will not only be to maintain the stability of the sector, but to transform these tools into levers of innovation and long-term sustainability, capable of accompanying the supply chain in a constantly evolving economic and regulatory context, particularly in the European panorama with the CAP reform, the revision of the Excise Duty Directive and at the international level with the upcoming COP 11. Policies will play a crucial role in enhancing the entire sector and related territories, supporting the sustainable and competitive development of the sector.