QUALITALY_135

July/August 2023 IV MAGAZINE Currently, not only as a company but as an industry, the weak points can be listed in the increases in production prices and packaging costs. Particularly in glass, plastics and cardboard, energy increases are weighing heavily, which, in part, have been passed on to customers. As far as glass is concerned, it is possible that in the next six to eight months there will also be difficulties in finding it. AND THE STRENGTHS? In our case, we are producers of the PET bottles usually used for seed oils. In this way we offer a wide flexibility, using, for example, recycled PET in the bottle composition or designing and manufacturing lighter bottles in order to reduce the use of plastic. Paper labels are also being studied and the latest innovation introduced for Zucchi-branded extra virgin oils is the grass-paper label. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? We use a high percentage of grass in the mixture, which means less cellulose and reduces the impact on trees, energy for production and transport. For glass packaging, on the other hand, we use bottles with a guaranteed minimum percentage of 70 per cent recycled glass with a dark colour, so as to reduce the use of natural raw materials, including the removal of sand from the quarry, and to increase energy savings. GOING BACK TO THE MARKET AND PRICES, WHAT CONSTRAINTS ARE THERE? The impact of price increases has been there and has been particularly negative over the past year. At the beginning of 2023, despite the relative drop in the cost of raw materials compared to the previous year, prices to the public remained high in an attempt to recover all the lost margins. Clearly, this is not conducive to restoring historical consumption, with a consequent ‘aggressiveness’ of leading priced companies, effectively shifting consumption towards cheaper types of oil. DOES THE PROBLEM ALSO EXTEND TO PRODUCTION? The 2022-2023 period is proving critical not only for Italy, but also for the other Mediterranean countries. Spain, the world’s leading producer, ended with around 750 thousand tonnes produced (last year it was 1.5 million). As far as Italy is concerned, the high level of uncertainty in the market has both general and specific causes. WHICH ARE? Certainly the global post-Covid situation continues to spread uncertainty. In addition, there is the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the medium-low availability of raw materials and the decrease in consumer purchasing power due to the economic crisis. SO, TODAY, WHAT ARE THE APPROXIMATE COSTS OF SELLING TO THE HORECA SECTOR? It is difficult to quote figures. Current scenarios have made commodity price forecasts extremely complex with continuous fluctuations that affect the end consumer who does not always have the necessary means to adapt to such rapid and sudden changes. The difficult understanding of the dynamics governing the dynamics of the oil market clashes with the need to keep food costs under control for proper management of one’s restaurant business. SO MANY DIFFICULTIES, BUT WHAT SHOULD A QUALITY OIL BE? Food safety and sustainability have become indispensable aspects for the consumer, who prefers a reliable and trustworthy supply chain, combining price with other values to be announced. This leads the consumer, even when out and about, to prefer establishments sensitive to these aspects and to choose meals with healthy and safe food. WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR US? In the future, the sector will have to respond better to the new needs of customers who are increasingly interested in products with a distinct health value and transparent, traceable production methods. The eating out sector has undergone major transformations, some of which are still not clearly discernible. Only companies capable of grasping these changes and interpreting the different needs in a proactive manner will be able to lay the foundations for building a stable and continuous presence in the sector. The challenges that are already emerging speak of inclusion, technology and sustainability, which can be translated in the sector as the ability of companies to offer operators not only products that respect these characteristics, but also tools with which to communicate these values. A critical situation undermining the market Marco De Pasquale , sales manager of Ortuso, a company from Campobasso, also spoke on the same subject. ‘Currently the oil situation is quite critical because stocks at world level are really low. We at Ortuso, for example, not only produce Italian oil but also market some from the European Community. However, we have serious difficulties sourcing raw material from countries like Spain, Portugal, Greece and Tunisia precisely because of this shortage. WHAT IS THE SOURCE OF THIS PRODUCT SHORTAGE? As far as Italy is concerned, there is the climate problem or, as far as Puglia is concerned, unfortunately there is still talk of Xylella. The situation is expected to improve with the harvest scheduled for October this year, although, Italian oil production alone will not be enough to meet the world’s needs and demands for a whole year. Italy has always ranked second in oil production with a maximum regime of 3.6 million quintals. Spain surpasses us with quantities ranging from a minimum of 13 to a maximum of 18 million quintals of oil. The climate crisis is also affecting Spain; it is easy to understand the reasons for the shortfall given that, on average, world demand is around 21 million quintals of oil per year. OIL SHORTAGE COMBINED WITH THE PROBLEM OF FINDING RAW MATERIALS FOR PACKAGING? The situation on the price front is complex. Consider that usually, for HORECA, oil Stefano Vezzani , Direttore Canale Out of Home Oleificio Zucchi di Cremona Marco De Pasquale , direttore commerciale di Ortuso