This morning in Rome the members’ assembly unanimously re-elected [b]David Granieri[/b] as president of UNAPROL – Consorzio Olivicolo Italiano. During the assembly, the Consortium’s board of directors was also renewed.
Granieri, born in 1979, an agricultural entrepreneur, has held the position of president of Unaprol since 2014 and is currently national vice-president and president of the Lazio Regional Federation of Coldiretti. UNAPROL today brings together 56 producer organisations active in all Italian olive-growing regions and represents over 60% of the sector in the country. The businesses involved in its activities number over 270,000, for a total of over 300,000 hectares in production of quality extra virgin olive oil and table olives. Always engaged in numerous projects carried out with the support of the European Union, the Consortium also works to improve the environmental sustainability of cultivation and production systems, to improve the quality of EVO oil, and to spread the culture of oil and table olives.
“[i]I sincerely thank all UNAPROL members for renewing their trust in me.[/i] – states Granieri – [i]Today more than ever we have a huge job ahead of us to relaunch Italian olive growing. We estimate that the coronavirus emergency has caused the sector losses of 2 billion euros, due to the forced closure and difficult restart of bars, restaurants and agritourism businesses, obstacles to exports and the collapse of tourist numbers. At the same time, prices paid to producers have fallen by 44%, the lowest levels recorded since 2014, due to the presence on the world market of abundant stocks of Spanish oil from previous campaigns, often passed off as Italian due to a lack of transparency about the product on sale. The result? Very serious economic and image damage for Italian producers.
We have requested the activation of innovative tools in favour of the olive-growing sector, and we stand alongside Coldiretti with a package of extraordinary measures to support farms and mills operating in short supply chains, those most at risk today, with the immediate release of funds already allocated for modernising the olive-growing supply chain. But liquidity alone is not enough. We need flexibility mechanisms, massive support for exports and an extraordinary communication plan for oil, which has always been a driving symbol of the whole Made in Italy agri-food sector. Not all olive oils are the same; among the challenges ahead of us is that of teaching consumers to recognise and choose quality, and to always support the businesses that pursue it.
We will demand a review of the classification of oils, with tighter criteria, guaranteeing that the “extra virgin” definition is reserved only for quality olive oils: we cannot compete in a distorted market, even if this means very tough choices for our country, such as leaving the IOC. Our direct relationship with consumers will be crucial, also in order to spread and promote the culture of oil in collaboration with Evoo School Italia: the right perception of quality becomes market. We will strengthen and give more operational tools to the many affiliated local structures, and we will work to positively influence markets in favour of Italian olive-growing businesses, by calling for the adoption of mechanisms such as revolving pledges and increased storage capacity.[/i]”
