What rules to export Italian products abroad?

The trend in exports of Made in Italy food products has increased exponentially over the past decade and, given the current economic situation, more and more Italian companies are looking for new markets outside the European Union.

How to manage shipments with punctuality, safety and advantages in business?

There are excellent opinions of many foreign clients who have decided to work together with the Italian company leader in the export sector, the note egonternational Group, specializing in particular in the international market to export Made in Italy food products, especially dry foods such as pasta, oil, sauces, tomato and vinegar, offering an efficient service without loss of time and money for the customer.

The term “export” refers to the sale of products to third countries that are not part of the European Union, while the activities of trade between EU member states are called “exchanges”.

egointernational opinions are in line with those of the Minister of Economic Development, Federica Guidi, who says “To enter the territories of third countries, Italian companies must meet certain health standards agreed through specific regulations that can vary. Depending on the country of destination and the product exported, in fact these rules are constantly changing because new markets for the different types of products are springing up year by year; at the same time the country’s destination may impose sanitary requirements which exporting countries must adjust from time to time”.

Importing countries have very different characteristics and traditions, thus they involve requirements not always homogeneous. The import of products in the US, for example, concerns the submission, within five days of arrival at the port of landing, of various documents required for the release of the goods to customs and others providing information on duties and statistical purposes. If these formalities are not respected as required, the goods may be subject to detention, until it is proved that the product meets the standards of the US Food & Drug Administration.

The detention of the products in the warehouses of the customs for the importer involves a significant loss of time and money for each hour that the goods are in storage, and this course is a significant source of poor service.

Positive reviews have been written on egointernational service about it, since it is able to offer a complete assistance thanks to an efficient and proactive export manager service who is able to avoid red tape. The opinions and assessments of ICE about this topic recommend constant monitoring of shipments and the trace-ability of goods in order to facilitate the export of Italian food products abroad.

Made in Italy food excellence: export data and new dangers for its protection

Christmas Holidays have just finished and so we can analyse data about Italian products purchasing during last days of 2014. In effect, statistics point out that exportation for Made in Italy traditional Christmas deliciousness increased if compared with the same period of 2013. So which are the “best sellers”? You will discover it reading the first part of this article. Afterwards, we are going to put our attention to a related argument: new EU rules for food labels and risks for Made in Italy.

Part one

PANETTONE OR PANDORO: WHICH IS YOUR FAVOURITE ITALIAN CHRISTMAS CAKE TO PAIR WITH SPUMANTE?

In Italy, Panettone and Pandoro are symbols of traditional Christmas cakes. People main amusement is choosing between Milan and Verona, respectively the two cities where Panettone and Pandoro were born, and this is real challenge. Abroad, it is not the same: people love Made in Italy cakes without no competition.

The famous Italian traditional Christmas cakes: Pandoro and Panettone

Confartigianato, the Italian craftsmen and SMEs Association, claims that cakes exportation reached 280 millions of euros during 2014. In addition, research points out that the most “gourmand” countries are:

• France → export value €77,1 millions (with a growing purcentage of 10,8%)
• Germany → export value €40,7 millions
• United Kingdom → export value €31,4 millions

Quality and tradition, together with artisan skills, make food the Italian export excellence. Thanks to 90.980 artisan businesses, Italy has 261 food products with protected designation of origin (DOP, IGP, STG) and so “she” is the EU leader. As we can see, the other EU countries are left behind:

• France: 208 products
• Spain: 173 products
• Portugal: 123 products

In addition, exportations positive trend help artisan businesses growth: production workers reached 158.368 units in 2014 and this means 5,4% more than 2013. Confartigianato reveals that Italian areas with the higher number of craftsmen are:

• Lombardy (11.209 enterprises)
• Sicily (10.127 enterprises)
• Emilia Romagna (8.166 enterprises)

These features confirm that Made in Italy is a cultural inheritance to protect.

Spumante is another product which has a worldwide diffusion.

Famous Italian wine: Spumante

The famous bottle of wine is tipically uncorked during December 31st night in order to drink to the new year and so it’s connected to parties and other happy moments.

According to Coldiretti, the Agricultural Association, Italian spumante successfully won the market challenge with 170 millions of bottles consumed abroad, even 24% more than in Italy! We can easily affirm that Made in Italy is really appreciate and export is an engine for economic growth.

 

Part two

NEW EU RULES: HOW ARE THEY GOING TO CHANGE INFORMATION FOR FOOD? 

New EU regulation for food labels

EU introduced new regulation 1169/2011 concering food labels, which entered into force on December 13th 2014. The original intention is making information easier to read for customers, especially for allergic ones.

In particular, the main points to take into consideration are the following:

• better legibility for labels using a stardard minimum size of text
• allergens must be highlighted with different fonts, style or background colours. This rule is valid for non pre-packed food too, such as food sold in restaurants
• indication of vegetable origin of refined oil or fats is obligatory
• mandatory date of freezing or first freezing and indication of defrosted sold products
• mandatory country of origin for meat (beef, pig, sheep, goat and poultry), fish, fruit and vegetables, honey, extra virgin olive oil
• name of business operator is obligatory
• place of provenance of food is optional except for products already listed

IS REAL MADE IN ITALY IN DANGER?

Italian Government believes that last point of this rule is absolutely negative for both food export and customers. Italian companies are going to keep manufacturing plants information because Made in Italy sounding is a precious value. They are convinced that the more label is clear the more clients trust in their brands chosing their products. It’s a matter of reliability and honesty. In this way, they obtain sales increasing and they are able to establish long-term relationships with customers.

On the other hand, foreign enterprises may avoid to indicate their places of provenance and this means less control, less quality and less clearness. In effect, many international corporation outsource their production and so it is not easy to understand where food  really comes from. As a consequence, Italy wants EU to revise its decision. As Coldiretti points out, new labels rules are not the proper solution to save Made in Italy from frauds and forgeries, for which customers are often not informed. On the contrary, labels are anonymous for a large part of everyday products, such as milk or ham.

In addition, another danger is about to arrive: USA and China are discussing about a commercial treaty which allows American enterprises to export Italian and European counterfeit cheese into Chinese market. If this treaty was realized, protected designation of origin products would lose market shares and credibility. This would be a damage both for export and for Made in Italy brand image.

Conclusion? EU has to raise the voice up against every attempt to attack quality, authenticity and health protecting products which are typical of its history and culture.

“Made in Italy” and China: new business export opportunities

During its six months of EU premiership, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is successfully increasing importance of partnerships with key foreign markets. The last example concerns Mr Li Keqiang, who has been officially received as Chinese Prime Minister for the first time.

Mr Keqiang chose to visit Italy during his European tour and this is a clear and positive signal for future import/export operations. In addition, China and Italy celebrate the 10th anniversary of their comprehensive strategic partnership this year. Italy is one of China’s main partner in Europe and both Countries are interested in cooperation, economic growth and investments.

 WHICH ARE THE MAIN TOPICS DISCUSSED DURING THIS VISIT?

Chinese and Italian Prime Minister’s meeting at Innovation Forum

In effect, this visit aims to develop new business opportunities enhancing the traditional friendship relations between China and Italy, which are symbols of excellence for Eastern and Western cultures and they respect and appreciate each other. During the last six months, exchanges reached 23 billions of dollars and this is an encouraging data. In effects, China’s will is to increase import for “Made in Italy”products with particular attention to high technologies, energy, agriculture, machines and yacht sectors.

First of all, the two leaders met during China-Italy Innovation Forum and they signed 20 bilateral cooperation agreements. The total amount is over 8 billions of Euros and this is a great leap both for Italian exportations and economy. These are the most important exemples:

• Enel SpA and Bank of China signed an agreement which Italian Managing Director and CEO Mr Francesco Starace defined as strategic:  Enel SpA needs financial competences and Bank of China has at its disposal a company which is an international leader in utility sector. Both parties are satisfied and confident about results and reciprocal benefits
• Finmeccanica-AgustaWestland has an agreement with Chinese Beijing Automotive Industrial Corporation (BAIC): Italian company is now supplier for 50 helicopters, which will be used for public missions. The contract value is about 400 billions of Euros and it is only the first step towards future partnerships such as supporting activities, customized helicopters and in loco flight training
• Italian National Standardization Body -UNI signed a prior agreement with SAC–Standards Administration of China in order to cooperate and to share information and activities which simplify commercial exchanges.

The last point is particularly positive for Made in Italy food exportations as it aims to make controls, methods, timing and required documents easier and faster. In addition, Mr Renzi and Mr Keqiang discussed about solving two negative market trends which are oppressing this sector and many others ones: forgery and infringement of intellectual property. Joining innovation and creativity to scientific knowledge in order to improve and to make grow mutual industries: this is one of the key points expressed by Mr Keqiang during China-Italy business forum.

 WHICH ARE BENEFITS COMING FROM ASEM AND CHINESE PRIME MINISTER VISIT?

Chinese Prime Minister’s arrival at Asem, Milan, Italy

Mr Keqiang also attended to the 10th Asia-Europe Meeting (Asem) with leaders coming from over 50 Asian and European Countries and international organizations. For the first time in Italy, Asem’s theme was: “Responsible Partnership for Growth and Security“. In particular, the 53 member states discussed about the following topics:

1. Responsible
2. Partnership
3. Sustainable Growth
4. Security

As we can understand, this summit was established in order to help Europe and Asia solving a number of issues of global importance such as economic growth, energy safety, financial and economical cooperation, human rights and climate changes. All these themes concern improvement and simplification of future business relations and they are obviously related to import and export to Italy.

Milan was chosen as the right place to host the summit and this is a great pride for the whole Italy. As declared by Mr Pisapia, Milan’s mayor, the city lived two wonderful days thanks to journalists coming from the most important newspapers and to all international news channels. They had special consideration for Milan describing its beauty and pointing out attention to Italy. Therefore, events we all were witnesses lead a great value for internationalization.

China is a powerful economic, commercial and financial Country and it chose Italy as a strategic partner. This means that Beijing likes Made in Italy main features: tecnology, quality, design, innovation and creativity. Italian companies are ready to win this challenge and to take opportunities coming from exportation.

 

 

 

WHAT IS TRAFFIC LIGHT LABELLING AND HOW THIS SYSTEM DAMAGED EXPORT FOR “MADE IN ITALY” FOOD PRODUCTS

Traffic light labelling system’s classification for food

Great Britain is the fourth international market for Italian food companies which sell their products abroad. This means business and export opportunities for € 2.500.000.000, as Italy’s food and drink industry body Federalimentare points out. As we can easily understand, Italian farmers were very disappointed when Great Britain Department of Health annonced a new project: using traffic light labelling for food products.

HOW DOES THIS SYSTEM WORK?         

Helping customers to distinguish bad food from healthy food and fighting fatness problems: these are the main purposes declared by English Minister Mrs Anna Soubry one year ago. Each food item is labelled red, yellow or green depending on its fats, salt and sugar contents for a 100 grammes quantity.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR “MADE IN ITALY” FOOD?

Italian exportation for food were damaged by this decision because traffic light labelling system is too summary. It doesn’t take into consideration neither quantities that are consumed nor other nutritional components. In a very simple way, labels communicate that an item is not absolutely healthy and this is wrong. The right information is that the item marked “red” must be consumed with moderation.

Traditional Italian products for which “Made in Italy” is a worldwide brand, such as olive oil and Parmesan cheese, were classified as “bad food” while cola is marked “green” and we know it is not healthier than cheese.Market research points out that 67% of English customers don’t buy a product labelled “red” because this colour means “warning, danger” and so both import and export to Italy for food products are decreasing. In addition, Great Britain is not a Country renowned for light food or balanced diet and so if English Minister Mrs Anna Soubry thinks a label may solve fatness problems she is off the truck.

A traditional “Made in Italy” food: Parmesan cheese

These are the reason why Italy decided to present this problem to EU Commission.
In particular, Italian EU Parliament members point out that labels are misleading and they don’t really help customers choosing healthy food as Great Britain claimed. On the contrary, customers are not responsible for their choices, they only look at the colour without analyzing the other components. It’s an easy and fast system but it is not realistic: if items marked as “red” were harmul for public health they would have been removed from both Great Britain and all international markets. As declaired by Paolo De Castro, Head of the European parliament’s agriculture committee, this system risks to damage quality products such as Italian ones.

WHICH IS EU COMMISSION’S DECISION ABOUT THIS SYSTEM?

Few days ago, Italy received an important confirmation: EU Commission decided to send a “letter of formal notice” to Great Britain, which has 2 months to answer. In case of no solution or no answer, Italian “dossier” will be submitted to EU Court. EU Commission confirms customers need information when choosing products but this is not the right method.

This success for Italy is justified by:

• combined actions coming from all Italian EU Parliament and Commission members during this months
• combined actions coming from Italian farmers, Federalimentari and other Italian Organizations
• Italian Prime Minister Mr Matteo Renzi’s commitment to solve this situation
• EU treaties’ rules

Concerning the last point, EU treaties allows free exchanges between European Union Countries. Each item which is produced and selled by an EU Country following its rules and its standard, legal and traditional procedures can be commercialized in other EU Countries. As a consequence, all EU members have to accept distribution and commercialization for EU products into their markets. Thanks to these rules, the whole Europe is a market without customs or restrictions. On account of this, traffic light labelling system is a clear discrimination against some products and this is not allowed.

Import to Italy, export companies and “Made in Italy” won this battle and this is a great success for the whole sector.

 

HOW TO FIND PARTNERS FOR MADE IN ITALY IMPORT/EXPORT

Made in Italy products have features which are appreciated all over the world: quality, enduring, design, innovation, attention to details, customization and elegance.
If we think about clothing and food, which are the traditional sectors for Italian exportation, we know that Italy is usually considered as the best manufacturer.

Italian market is composed by many small and medium sized companies whose products have all these characteristics but some of them are not able to sell abroad because they don’t have an internal foreign department.
This is the reason why EGO International was established in 2002.

WHO IS EGO INTERNATIONAL?

EGO International Srl is a company based on Northern Italy which has a clear mission: connecting global buyers to Italian suppliers.
This purpose is also indicated by the name: in effect, EGO means Export Global Opportunities.
The company has 70 employees and a growing number of area and export managers and marketing & research experts.
The technical department consists of engineers and technicians, as well as technical and commercial managers for all sectors.
EGO International aims to make easy import/export transactions for Made in Italy products by:              

Made in Italy means quality, design and innovation.

1.selecting qualified and certified Italian suppliers which are interested in exporting their products

2.contacting buyers who wants to import Made in Italy products

3.helping buyers to find Italian suppliers who respect their requirements

4.supporting Italian suppliers and buyers during negotiations and quotes processing

Therefore, the company provides internationalization services for Italian companies while global buyers have new business opportunities to import from Italy.

HOW DOES EGO INTERNATIONAL WORK?

All Italian member entreprises are examined by a technical department, which verify their suitability for the export of their products. EGO currently counts over 1,800 qualified and certified Italian companies operating in various commercial and technological sectors.
These are suppliers business areas:

• Food & Beverage
• Frameworks
• Fashion
• Medical Sector
• Furniture
• Ceramics
• Packaging
• Marketing system
• Printing and Lythography
• Wooden houses
• Promotion material for trade fairs
• Contracting
• Automatic vending machines
• Building sector

According to buyers’ requests EGO is able to give quotes for the following parts, components and complete machines:

• precision mechanics
• metal sheet working
• moulding of items in plastic and rubber
• additional services such as surface treatments and foundry

The company operates as an external foreign office for Italian suppliers supporting them during the internationalization and selling process.

EGO International helps you finding new business opportunities.

On the other hand, EGO connects buyers to the best suppliers for them from a quality, quantity, delivery and price point of view.
This is a bespoke and a free of charge service for buyers: annual fees are paid by Italian clients.

This is how it works:

Step 1.
buyer send his RFQ to EGO International

Step 2.
he receives quotes that meet his needs

Step 3.
he chooses the best supplier and quote

Step 4.
he receives samples to ensure quality

Step 5.
buyer places his order and archive quotes he didn’t use this time

EGO supports buyers throughtout the process without any hassle or communication complications.

WHICH ARE MARKETS WHERE EGO INTERNATIONAL WORK?

All export managers are native speakers and they allow company to operate in different global markets:

• North, Central and Eastern Europe
• Middle East and Asia
• North Africa and Arabic Countries

WHICH ARE BENEFITS FOR ITALIAN SUPPLIERS AND BUYERS?

EGO International is the ideal partner both for importing and exporting Made in Italy products.

1. No costs and no commissions for buyers
2. Connection to suppliers who assure excellent Made in Italy products, best prices and customer care
3. Ensuring incredible returns on investments while building loyal and lasting relationships that remove any buying or selling risk
4. Increasing profits
5. Saving time and money: buyers and suppliers don’t need to search business partners by themselves
6. Whole linguistic, commercial, technical and cultural support during all phases
7. A bespoke service: buyers are connected to Italian suppliers who exactly match requirements

The company is the ideal partner for entreprises which are interested in both internationalization and in grabing opportunities from exporting their products.
On the other hand, importing from Italy is more profitable for buyers.
Therefore, EGO International plays a key role in spreading Made in Italy brand all over the world and it helps to avoid barriers which damage international transactions.

UKRAINE CRISIS MAIN EFFECTS FOR ITALIAN EXPORT TO RUSSIA

Importance of Russian market grew during last years for Italian companies.
Export value is about €11.000.000.000 for year 2013 and it would have been increasing if Ukraine crisis didn’t break balance of power between European Union and Russia.
President Putin decided to support separatist rebels and so Brussels started applying sanctions against Russian key economic sectors.

Italy-Russia

As a consequence, Moscow answered using the same strategy: a black-list containing EU Countries, among which Italy, who have no permission to sell their products/services to Russia.

Which are the main effects for Italian export now?

• A decreasing trend for export to Russia due to both embargo and sanctions.
Research highlights that Italy lost business opportunities for about €132.000.000 during the sole month of August 2014.

• Legislative Decree signed by President Putin on August 6th 2014 damaged agricultural and food: vegetables and fruits ready to be delivered were been rejected by Russian customs and this situation caused a great loss of production, time, money and human resources.

• In order to avoid embargo, many Russian companies established “satellite enterprises” into Countries which are not included in black-list.
This method inspired Italian companies to sell in other Countries using a triangulation transaction.
For example, Italy exports fruits to Serbia and Serbia resells products to Russia.

This situation is creating uncertainty and ambiguity concerning future business relations and so choosing a professional partner who provides services for internationalization is a urgent and essential need.