At an industry meeting yesterday, the Italian farmers confederation (CIA) and the Italian agricultural organization Coldiretti said that substantial increases in the countries organic sector have warranted wide-scale overhauls and legislative support by the government.
However, new legislation regarding organic food within the country could further hamper imports from foreign countries and prove to be a trade obstacle.
Many countries have accused Italy of using its labelling laws to limit the impact of foreign competition. Recently, Italy has used its country-of-origin (COOL) labelling laws to try and keep out foreign tomato paste and passata from China.
The country has also used EU food safety laws to confiscate or delay shipments of foreign wheat from Canada and the US earlier this year. Both countries have alleged political motives were behind the grain seizures.
However, agriculture groups have said that new regulations would help small and medium-sized operations in the country. Coldiretti and the CIA are urging the government to develop a support network of warehousing, packaging, processing and wide-scale distribution for local produce.
"Adequate solutions are needed for a sector that has grown by 21.7 per cent over the last year," said CIA President Giuseppe Politi. "This has placed Italy fourth in the world, after Australia, China and Argentina, and first in Europe."
Citing the 12 per cent upsurge in land devoted to organic farming since 2005, Coldiretti's Secretary-General Franco Pasquali said that labelling standards must be adopted to standardise the supply.
"The government must implement an Italian organic label in order to catch up with countries such as France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Holland, Sweden and Denmark - all of whom made this move a long time ago," saidPasquali.
Pasquali also noted imports of organic foods into the country were down 6 per cent, the first decrease the industry has seen.
According to the CIA, organic products account for 2 per cent of the Italian food industry's turnover and the volume is growing rapidly.
Organic labelling would be an addition to the countries already stringent enforcement of COOL labelling laws, passed by the Italian parliament on 24 July 2004.
The law mandates that food processors indicate the country of origin of all ingredients used in their preparations. COOL is mandatory in Italy for beef, fish and seafood, fruit and vegetables. National regulations also exist for olive oil, honey and poultry meat.
The Italian government has also put pressure on retailers to push local produce. Recently the government convinced some foreign and domestic supermarkets to put in "Buy Italian" food sections in the stores.