(June 16) “Basilicata exists, and that’s kind of like the existence of God: either you believe it or you don’t!” – it’s a joke by Nicola Palmieri who plays Rocco Papaleo in the 2010 movie “Basilicata Coast To Coast”. Without disputing the existence of Basilicata, an interesting piece of information is to look at how the rest of the world related to this Italian region. The Italian Farmers Confederation of Basilicata has just released encouraging data analyzed by Istat. In particular, the Italian Farmers Confederation emphasizes the “success of ‘Made in Basilicata’ exports, which in the first three months of the year recorded a 145% increase in EU countries and a 22% increase in most countries outside of the EU.” On top of this, “this great export success isn’t only due to the new car models produced in Melfi but also thanks to the Aglianico del Vulture that arrives in the US and Japan, the Metaponto strawberries sold in Germany and Belgium, the niche markets of Moliterno pecorino, cheese and sausages,” explains the Confederation. Another interesting element is that “among the main economic activities, farming is the third entry in terms of percentage growth (+ 7.8%) of Italian exports, second only to transportation and waste treatment products; while food (+ 5.8%) is the third industry. Basilicata – concludes the Confederation – thanks to its food exports worth between €20 and €22 million, is a reserve of special food products: the region produces 77 PDO and PGI delicacies. These are encouraging numbers for an area that is finally taking up the challenge of internationalization.” (Red)
