Prosecco.it — Conegliano Valdobbiadene

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Value, production and employment

The new Economic Report of the Research Centre for the District of Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore, regarding the year 2014, reveals an increase of 2% in the number of employees in the wine industry, with 12.9% more young people. The value of production was 403.6 million Euros for a total of 79.2 million bottles, showing value up by 11.5% and volume by 9.3%.
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Value, production and employment are growing in the production area for Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore. The new Economic Report of the Research Centre for the District of Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore, regarding the year 2014, reveals an increase of 2% in the number of wine industry employees compared to 2013: growth, in percentage terms, 5 times that registered nationwide in the same period (+0.4% according to Istat figures).

Considering the personnel operating in the various phases of production, sales and hospitality services, it is estimated that there are now 5,401 people working on a regular basis for the companies in the Sparkling Wine District of Conegliano Valdobbiadene. This result is very much in line with the increase in the value of production, which in 2014 reached a figure of 403.6 million Euros for a total of 79.2 million bottles, showing increases of 11.5% in value and 9.3% in volume.

In point of fact, employment is one of the central themes in the Research Centre’s new publication. Of particular relevance is the figure relating to the “Under 40s”. In 2014, the number of young people working for the sparkling wine producers of the Conegliano Valdobbiadene D.O.C.G. grew by 12.9% compared to 2013 (865 individuals, corresponding on average to 4.7 young people per firm). We are witnessing a real “return to the land”: under 40s in fact represent 37.2% of the total of those working in the vineyards and a quarter of the technical staffs in the wineries.

Generational renewal, however, is especially prevalent in administrative and sales roles, where “new recruits” represent almost 60% of the total, and in export departments, where the under 40s constitute 33.8% of those employed.

«Our Denomination has always invested in human capital, throughout the production chain», says Innocente Nardi, President of the Producers’ Consortium. «The generational turnover represented by the growth in employment of young people goes against the trend represented by the crisis scenario in most parts of the world, and it has contributed, with the contribution of modern, innovative visions, towards giving new dynamism to a Denomination that is displaying continual growth both within and outside of Italy, thanks in part to the presence of young people in key roles: vineyard workers, sales directors and managerial positions. These figures guarantee all-round quality and are increasingly sensitive to sustainable growth».

Giving due confirmation of the above statement are the data of the Economic Report of the Research Centre for the District of Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore, presented on 12th December with presentations by Vasco Boatto, Director of the Interdepartmental Centre for Research in Viticulture and Oenology (C.I.R.V.E.) and in charge of the District’s Research Centre; Simonetta Melis, Client Service Senior Manager of IRI (Institute for Industrial Reconstruction), who analysed trends in the supermarket sector of the Italian market; Eugenio Pomarici, Associate Professor of the University of Padua, who dealt with the subject of “Young people in the D.O.C.G.: a growing presence”; and Sergio Remi, Senior Researcher for the A.A.Ster Consortium , who dealt with “Young people in the D.O.C.G.: creating value, creating the future” .

ITALY AND HORECA – As regards the sparkling wine category (which represents 95% of the Denomination’s total), the Italian market registered ex-cellar sales of 222.6 million Euros, equivalent to a volume of 41.5 million bottles. Demonstrating how the sparkler from Conegliano Valdobbiadene succeeds in satisfying the requirements of members of the trade – and especially of restaurateurs and wine shop owners – who wish to offer a “Superior” wine with great versatility, are the nationwide HORECA figures for Prosecco Superiore Spumante which, with 70.5 million Euros, were up by 14.8% in value terms compared to 2013; a real trend reversal compared to recent years.

EXPORT – During the course of 2014, the worldwide exports of the D.O.C.G. sparkling wine from Conegliano Valdobbiadene have shown further significant progress on foreign markets, with products to the value of some 146.5 million Euros, equivalent to 31.9 million bottles. On a year-to-year basis, the international market absorbed 10.8% more in value terms and 11.9% more in volume compared to 2013.

The position of the European market was considerably reinforced as the principal area of reference for exports of sparkling Prosecco Superiore, with turnover of 119.6 million Euros (up 13.9% in value terms). Leading the pack is Germany, with sales of 32.8 million Euros (up 10.8% in value), followed by Switzerland with 28.2 million Euros and the United Kingdom with 25 million Euros (up 11.5% in value compared to 2013).

In non-European countries, too, the D.O.C.G. sparkling wine produced from the hills that stretch between Conegliano and Valdobbiadene has shown an increase in exports, attaining a sales value of 26.9 million Euros, corresponding to a volume of 5.6 million bottles. Compared to 2013, the consolidation of the non-European market was marked by an increase in product value (up 4.1%). Thanks to this development, sales over the long term have more than tripled, revealing an increase of 209% in volume compared to 2003. For the producers of the D.O.C.G., the United States market represents the fourth largest export market, with product to the value of 11.7 million Euros (2.6 million bottles). Here, too, there has been a substantial growth in market share over the long term, up 263% compared to 2003).

Investment in human capital and growth in exports also go hand in hand thanks to the education that the Producers’ Consortium carries out with its partners abroad, through seminars and meetings that have involved major markets such as the U.S.A. and Switzerland, but also expanding ones like China.