Latest news with #FrancescoLollobrigida
Bloomberg
4 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Washington's Global Hunt to Find Buyers for US Crops
A visit to the UK in May, Italy this week and Asia to come. Brooke Rollins is touring the world to drum up buyers for American crops. A few days ago, the US agriculture secretary held talks with her 'wonderful' Italian counterpart Francesco Lollobrigida about selling more wheat and soybeans to Europe. When in London, she lauded agricultural products as the 'crown jewel' of US exports. She's scheduled to visit Japan, Vietnam and India, and her officials will also be ticking off Peru next week.
Maroc
23-04-2025
- Business
- Maroc
Italian Agriculture Minister Hails Morocco's Regional Leadership in Water Management
Italian agriculture minister Francesco Lollobrigida praised Morocco's regional leadership, on Tuesday in Meknes, and its key role in Euro-mediterranean cooperation and addressing global challenges, particularly water management. Following bilateral talks with his Moroccan counterpart Ahmed El Bouari, on the sidelines of the International Agricultural Show in Morocco (SIAM), the Italian Minister commended the exemplary organization of what he called an "extremely significant" event for the environment, sustainable development, and interregional cooperation. Reaffirming Italy's commitment to strengthening bilateral synergies, Lollobrigida said he was willing to deepen cooperation in promoting shared activities, supporting businesses, and enhancing product quality. The Italian official also welcomed the theme devoted to water management chosen for this edition, which he described as "a great moment of exchange around one of our planet's major priorities." Under the High Patronage of HM King Mohammed VI, SIAM 2025 runs from April 21 to 27 in Meknes, hosting 1,500 exhibitors from 70 countries under the theme "Agriculture and the Rural World: Water at the Heart of Sustainable Development." MAP: 22 avril 2025
The Independent
03-04-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Cheese, wine and whiskey: How your shopping basket could be affected by Trump's tariffs
Tariffs that will make exporting goods to America more costly could hit shopping baskets in the UK as producers around the globe look to recoup the extra costs. Donald Trump 's levies mean industries worldwide are scrambling to assess what the impact on them will be and there is no doubt that consumers in the US will see prices there rise as manufacturers pass on those costs to the buyer. But that in turn means that many might opt out of paying higher prices, while businesses in America might cancel orders coming in from overseas to avoid paying those extra costs. That might mean raising prices elsewhere to reduce their losses. Here's what different industries have said in response and what impact that might have on UK prices. Cheese A collection of feta producers in Greece have already noted they'll be severely impacted, with half their sales to America likely to disappear. "We have to divert these quantities to other markets,' said the head of Greece's association of dairy industries. That could mean lower prices elsewhere to stoke demand, or trying to find new territories to sell into. But even the latter could see price rises as the wider economic impacts of recession risk and supply chain disruptions are felt. The European Dairy Association has similarly criticised the move as 'unjustified'. Wine The amount of wine people have been drinking has been on the decline worldwide and now Rioja in Spain is in the firing line. Surplus stock and the potential partial loss of the second-biggest market, in the US, means farmers are under real pressure. In Italy, agriculture minister Francesco Lollobrigida was cautiously optimistic, saying they 'aren't terrified,' though noting the US was 'a fundamental market for Italy, indispensable and not replaceable'. Sales of French wine and spirits to the US are expected to fall 20 per cent, report Reuters. Whisky, whiskey and beer The Irish Whiskey Association has urged governments to continue working together amid expected 'devastating impacts' to business models, with 41 per cent of Irish drinks exports bound for the US market. Meanwhile, 10,000 European beer producers are going to be significantly hit too - those produced and shipped in aluminium cans will be hit by a 25 per cent tariff imposed on that industry, confirmed FoodNavigator. The Scotch Whisky Association have not offered guidance on the amount of impact it fears but said they are 'disappointed' that companies are being hit. Fish Tavish Scott, chief executive of Salmon Scotland, said about 25 per cent of its exports went Stateside but hoped demand would remain despite additional costs. 'We have great confidence that Americans will continue to buy nutritious Scottish salmon, particularly when the country is reliant on imports to meet US consumer demand,' he said. The statement again called for calm discussion rather than retaliation to resolve the issues at hand. When will UK prices be affected? Domestically, prices might not be immediately impacted, but down the line they can be in more than one way. Professor Andrew Clare of Bayes Business School told The Independent that the UK's own response will also affect matters. 'We're protected by the floating exchange rate to an extent, but the negative demand shock could still impact,' he said. 'It will depend how the UK government deal with it: if reciprocal tariffs apply then it will similarly have an inflationary effect [on UK consumers] that US consumers face now. Looking longer term, supply chain issues are another complex factor at play. 'The overall UK market might not be immediately impacted but we're part of a global supply chain. If it causes problems elsewhere, it might cause a knock-on effect: it could be more competitive to get resources elsewhere rather than to the UK,' Scott Curtiss, a supply chain expert at RELEX, told The Independent. 'Particularly in retail grocery prices there's a lag and there are supermarket price policies to consider. But there's a balance at play: it might not be those goods which are directly impacted which change prices, they might maintain an artificially low price on the item affected but raise it elsewhere. 'The Suez Canal and other shipping issues show you have to be ready and have options in place, rather than constantly reacting to each event.'
Local Italy
26-03-2025
- Business
- Local Italy
Italian Prosecco producers halt US exports over fears of new alcohol tariffs
US-bound shipments of Prosecco – one of Italy's biggest wine exports – have been suspended in recent days following US threats to impose 200-percent levies on wine and spirits imported from Europe amid growing trade tensions between Washington and Brussels. "Our production system has been experiencing the suspension of shipments to the US market for a few days now,' winemaker consortiums Prosecco Doc, Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Docg and Asolo Prosecco Docg said in a letter addressed to Italy's Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida. 'The decision to freeze orders was made due to the current uncertainty, [...] considering that our wines – which take several weeks to reach the US – could see tariffs rise up to 200 percent during the journey between Italy and America,' they said. Such a scenario would 'throw our [US] importers into a crisis' but would also have 'severe repercussions on the exporting companies," they added. Earlier this month, the US threatened to hit Europe's wine and spirits sector with 200-percent tariffs after the EU announced a series of levies intended as 'countermeasures' against previous American tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. The first set of EU countermeasures had originally been scheduled to come into force on April 1st, but the date was pushed to mid-April last week to allow for further negotiations between the parties. Should the US ultimately make good on its threats to impose 200-percent tariffs on alcohol imports, Italian winemakers, including Prosecco producers, would suffer heavy 'financial and social repercussions,' the consortiums said. Losing the American market would require producers to 'find alternative countries to place these products, which, in an emergency, would certainly lead to a sharp decrease in their value,' they added. The Prosecco Doc consortium alone exports around 130 million bottles to the US every year, generating some €500 million in revenue, according to Il Sole 24 Ore. The Asolo Prosecco Docg also relies heavily on the American market, exporting approximately 75 percent of its production to the US. The three Italian consortiums said that the 'gravity of the situation' called for 'appropriate measures' – both at a national and European level – to protect national winemakers, but didn't provide further details regarding potential courses of action. Wine exports to the US are estimated to generate a total revenue of around €2 billion for Italian producers, according to Il Corriere della Sera.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Oyster tax breaks could save fishermen after crab invasion
They may evoke images of luxury living and Champagne dinners, but oysters could be made cheaper in Italy to help battle an invasive crab. The Italian government wants to drastically cut VAT on oysters from 22 per cent to 10 per cent, making them more affordable for families of modest means. The hope is that reducing the price will boost demand and provide a lifeline for Italian fishermen who have been hard hit by the arrival of the Atlantic blue crab. The invasive species, which is thought to have been brought accidentally to the Mediterranean in the ballast water of commercial shipping, using its powerful pincers to tear into and devastate populations of fish, clams, mussels and prawns in Italian waters. The impact has been particularly acute in the Adriatic Sea, which is home to thousands of fish farms. Oysters have been largely unaffected because their hard shells protect them from the powerful claws of the voracious blue crab, and should no longer be viewed as a luxury for the elite, said Francesco Lollobrigida, the country's agriculture minister and a close ally of Giorgio Meloni, the prime minister. 'In this way we will help save the fishermen who have been brought to their knees by the blue crab,' said the minister, speaking at a tasting event to promote oysters in the Italian Senate, the upper house of parliament. Alberto Balboni, a senator and a member of Ms Meloni's conservative Brothers of Italy party, said many aquaculture businesses along the Adriatic coast were in acute difficulty because of the blue crab. 'Helping them is really important,' he said. 'All other shellfish have a VAT of 10 per cent. It's hard to understand why oysters are not the same.' A consortium of aquaculture organisations said in a statement: 'In the collective imagination, oysters are associated with luxury, but they really shouldn't be. It's important to promote their consumption.' Italy produces around 500 tons of oysters a year, said the organisations. But opposition parties mocked the idea, comparing the minister's proposal to the supposed 'let them eat cake' declaration made by Marie Antoinette when told her subjects were starving during the French Revolution. Italia Viva, a centre-Left party, posted an image on Instagram in which Mr Lollobrigida appeared as the ill-fated French queen. 'Majesty, the people are hungry,' the caption read. 'Give them oysters!' the minister replies in the spoof image. Other opposition MPs said the government had its priorities wrong. 'The minister says VAT on oysters should be reduced to 10 pr cent because they should be essential products, while tampons, powdered milk and nappies would appear to be luxury goods given that the Meloni government increased VAT on them from 5 per cent to 10 per cent,' said Nicola Fratoianni, from the opposition Green and Left Alliance. Blue crabs have caused €100 million of damage so far to the fishing industry in Italy, according to the agricultural lobby organisation Coldiretti. Cristiano Corazzari, the politician in charge of fisheries for the Veneto region, which includes Venice, said recently that the impact of the blue crab has been like 'an earthquake'. He said the production of clams has been cut by more than 90 per cent because of the invasion. 'It's been devastating. The crab has a very high reproduction rate. And it eats everything that it finds,' he said. Fishermen who catch the blue crab in vast quantities are trying to create a domestic market for the species. Italy is also exporting blue crabs to countries such as the US, South Korea and Sri Lanka, but it is still not enough to put a dent in the population. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
