At the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York, the Autonomous Province of Bolzano presents itself alongside its excellence. With more than 500 million euros in exports to the United States, the American market represents one of the most strategic routes for South Tyrolean companies. Marco Galateo, vice-president of the province, who personally accompanied the area’s companies to the most important agribusiness fair in North America, knows this well. In this interview, he talks about the value of institutional support for internationalization, the concrete actions put in place and future prospects, between customs duties and the dream of seeing Italian cuisine recognized as a Unesco heritage site.
How important is it for the province to support area businesses at international events like the Fancy Food Show?
It is vital. It is important for institutions to support markets and companies in the area. The U.S. market is very complex but particularly strategic for the future, we export over 500million euros there that we know can grow and double. To be able to do this, it is important to give institutional support to area companies to create strategic and business connections to do their work. We need to simplify life and improve conditions to create new trade routes.
What concrete actions is the province putting in place to help companies internationalize and compete in foreign markets such as the U.S.?
Last year we accompanied with a very small delegation some local companies that were present at the Fair with their own booths. This year we wanted to participate in the Summer Fancy Food in an institutional way by accompanying more companies. One action we are taking, at the time of the duties, is to change the criteria of some of the grants we give, we have improved them to help companies participate and for more years. We are doing this to meet the new requirements coming in. There is concern about the duties but we have confidence that the Italian government will find an acceptable solution for companies in our area.
What are the local agricultural and food excellences to focus on to grow the province’s economy?
Definitely Igp products, such as our South Tyrolean speck, which has been here for 20 years. It is a strategic product because Americans like it a lot and it has unique characteristics. Then there are many typical cheeses, like the Stelvio cheese. We think that Minister Lollobrigida’s idea of nominating Italian cuisine as a Unesco intangible heritage is brilliant and we want to support it with all our energy.
The article Marco Galateo and the Province of Bolzano’s support for businesses abroad comes from TheNewyorker.