3% of exports of agro-food products from Puglia to Great Britain are already in smoke due to bureaucratic and administrative barriers that hinder trade. This is according to an analysis conducted by Coldiret Puglia on the basis of Estate-Coveb provisional data on foreign trade in 2020.

Great Britain has been out of the European Union since January 2021, and of course the situation is further complicated by the fact that the UK is the fourth largest trading partner of Italy for food and beverages after Germany, France and the United States. After wine, Prosecco continues to be the second best-selling Italian food product in Great Britain – Coldiretti – with tomato derivatives, but the share of pasta, cheese, cured meats and olive oil. In addition, the breach of the Brexit agreement favors the arrival of EU food and beverages that do not meet EU safety standards, as well as counterfeits and imitations of protected food products.
“Exports of agro-food products from Puglia to the United Kingdom have increased by +41.5% in the five years to 2019. More than 70 per cent of the total 129 million Apulian agro-food exports exported were fruits and vegetables, compared to 97 per cent less than 5 per cent of imports from the United Kingdom last year. In order to maintain employment, it is necessary to invest in competition created in Italy, from agriculture, to the food sector, which is a driving force of the Italian and foreign economies, ”said Savino Muraglia, President of Coldiretti Puglia.
To this end, Coalition supports the European Union’s initiative against Great Britain by initiating infringement proceedings for breach of significant provisions established by the Protocol in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Without border controls, Great Britain – Coldiretti concludes – is likely to be the Italian-made Trojan horse that actually pays 100 billion bills, which sees the USA as one of the major fraudsters, and the British negotiating a trade agreement with the Commonwealth and part of the Commonwealth.

After wine, Coldiretti Puglia continues, with fresh and processed fruit and vegetable tomato derivatives being the second best-selling Italian agri-food product in Great Britain, but pasta, cheese and olive oil make up the bulk.

“At the same time, we see the launch of initiatives such as the English traffic light label in the marketplace – President Muraglia concludes. Traffic light, which is not conducive to Italian agro-food exports in Great Britain, is a nutritional program that is already prevalent in most British supermarkets. “
Of legal concern is the legal protection of products with geographical and qualitative indications (DOP / IGP) – up to 30% of agro-food exports made in Italy, without European protection, could be at risk from unjust competition for imitation products from non-EU countries.