FROM INTESA SANPAOLO €10 BILLION FOR AGRI-FOOD CHAINS

Announced in Florence at the event dedicated to the wine industry, for which €1.5 billion has been reserved

·       Agri-Talk launched, a cycle of meetings on the territory to involve the 80,000 agri-food companies that are customers of Intesa Sanpaolo's Agribusiness Department

·       Cattozzi: "Our new €10 billion intervention aims to support the Italian economy through the agri-food supply chains, which express the absolute value and typicality of true “Made in Italy” products. Today, new strategies need to be developed and investments accelerated in order to consolidate competitive positioning. Our aim is to offer concrete answers in a complex context marked by climate change, new consumption habits and innovation”

Florence, 7 June 2025 - AGRI-TALK kicks off in the Tuscan capital, the cycle of territorial meetings dedicated to the development of the “Made in Italy” agri-food supply chains, for which Intesa Sanpaolo is allocating new credit worth €10 billion - of which €1.5 billion for the wine supply chain alone - as part of the Group's €410 billion earmarked to support the initiatives linked to the PNRR.

The initiative comes at the behest of Banca dei Territori led by Stefano Barrese, which, thanks to the widespread action of the Agribusiness Department, supports one of the sectors that comprehensively accounts for 4.1% of the added value of the entire Italian economy, amounting to €81 billion in 2024, of which €44 billion generated by the agricultural sector and €37 billion by the food, beverage and tobacco industries.

In terms of employment, the Italian agri-food industry employs 1,430,000 people, 5.4% of the national total. The sector's exports reached €67.5 billion in 2024, an unprecedented result, up 8.3% compared to 2023, and the provisional export figure based on the first 2 months of 2025 is around €11.5 billion, of which €1.7 billion for agricultural products (+7.3% trend) and €9.8 billion for food, beverages and tobacco (+4.9%).

Agri-food chains are a typical Italian feature and a distinctive lever of our country's agri-food production worldwide. The approach that looks at these supply chains is based on the willingness to provide dedicated solutions according to the specificities of individual productions, differentiating their offer in terms of credit approach, financial and non-financial solutions. Intesa Sanpaolo's €10 billion intervention, focused on the growth of Italian agri-food SMEs and hinged on four strategic pillars to encourage investment, will act on these products of excellence:

• Focus on opportunities in the international context by addressing new markets, uncertainty factors and the effects of tariffs in foreign markets;
• Grow in size organically or through acquisitions and M&As in Italy or abroad;
• Investing in plant, equipment and innovation to respond to new scenarios dictated by climate change, different consumption habits and digitisation;
• Enhancing quality, ensuring business continuity and consumer satisfaction.

Agri-talk is the formula devised by Intesa Sanpaolo to present this development strategy and initiate a direct dialogue with companies and supply chains in the territories, in the presence of sector experts and company testimonials. Florence and Tuscany have been chosen as the venue for the first meeting, dedicated to the wine supply chain, which will be followed by meetings reserved for the olive oil, meat, dairy and fruit and vegetable supply chains, to name just the main ones.

The Italian wine supply chain

Addressing the uncertainty of the environment as an opportunity may be the most effective strategy at this stage for the 7,000 wine companies that are customers of the Agribusiness Directorate. They absolutely must now adopt new business models, invest in sustainability and develop innovative growth strategies. And these are choices that Intesa Sanpaolo will support by allocating €1.5 billion to companies in the sector, structuring investment paths in the most diverse areas such as cultivation, processing, ageing, traceability and marketing.

These are mainly small enterprises, about 84%, while the remaining 16% are medium to large enterprises. The geographical distribution covers the entire country, with a concentration of more than 60% in the regions with the highest wine-growing vocation, including: Tuscany, Umbria, Veneto, Sicily, Piedmont, Lazio, Abruzzo and Friuli Venezia Giulia.

Massimiliano Cattozzi, Head of the Agribusiness Department of Intesa Sanpaolo's Banca dei Territori, said: "Our new €10 billion intervention aims to support the Italian economy through the agri-food supply chains, which express the absolute value and typicality of true “Made in Italy” products. Today, new strategies need to be developed and investments accelerated in order to consolidate competitive positioning. Our aim is to offer concrete answers in a complex context marked by climate change, new consumption habits and innovation. This commitment is evidenced by the more than €11 billion disbursed to the industry since 2020 and the Group's specialised and transversal expertise. With the Agribusiness Directorate, we assist agribusiness companies in their growth, market diversification, and in building value for the country by consolidating their role as world-recognised excellences”.

With 250 operating points, including 95 specialised branches, and approximately 1,100 specialists, the Agribusiness Division supports more than 80,000 customers with targeted services on globalisation, sustainability, digital innovation and generational handover.

Report by the Research Department - Edited by Stefania Trenti, Head of Industry and Local Economies Intesa Sanpaolo

·       In 2024, Italy regained first place worldwide in wine production: with 44 million hectolitres produced, it made up for the drop in production seen in 2023, caused by extreme weather events that fuelled the spread of downy mildew. The 2024 vintage showed a good recovery, registering +15%, although still 6% below the average of the previous five years. In terms of exports, Italy ranks second in the world with a market share of 22% in value; at the top is France with a market share of 34.5%; in quantity, on the other hand, Italy accounts for 21.7% and is only slightly exceeded by Spain's 22%.

·       2024 closed with €8.1 billion of Italian wine exports, i.e. +5.5% compared to 2023 For wine, the top destination market is the United States, with over €1.9 billion in 2024 (+10.2% compared to 2023). This was followed by Germany (almost €1.2 billion, +3.7%) and the UK (€851 million, +1%). For the agri-food sector as a whole, exports in 2024 grew by 8.3% at constant prices to €67.5 billion.

·       But it is above all in terms of biodiversity that Italy holds its record: indeed, according to a study by the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), 75% of the national grape variety is covered by no less than 80 native varieties; Portugal follows with 40 varieties, while France and Spain stop at 15. This biodiversity makes for another advantage for Italy, which is the European country with the highest number of PDO/PGI certifications: as many as 528, while France falls short at 442.

·       The impact of US duties may be significant: the wine industry is among those most exposed to the US market, with around a quarter of all exports heading across the ocean. However, according to an internal survey conducted by Intesa Sanpaolo on the specialists who support branches in globalisation processes, the reactions that companies are considering include half of respondents indicating a search for new customers in new markets, and a third suggesting the possibility of opening sales or production branches in the US. There is also a certain degree of “wait-and-see”, postponing the timing of investments, and around 20% also point to the possibility of revising listings for the US market.

·       On the other hand, a quarter of the respondents see an acceleration of deliveries and sales in the US in anticipation of the entry into force of the duties. In Q1 2025, Italian wine exports to the US grew by 12.5% year-on-year in value, outperforming both France, +11.4%, and Spain, +3.2%. In quantity, the increase was 3.8%, against +4.8% in Spain, while France recorded a decrease: -3.2%.

·       Points deserving of particular note include the fragmentation of the wine sector: Italian producers are smaller than their international competitors; 35% of Italian wineries have less than 5 hectares, while in France it is only 7%, making it more difficult to create a system. An issue of generational changeover also emerges: around 10% of Italian wineries have a board made up exclusively of over-65s, while only 5% are led entirely by under-40s. The results of companies managed by young people are better in terms of both turnover growth and profitability.

·       Other points to take into account are competition from major international competitors, declining consumption leading to the need to intercept or stimulate new consumer segments, and climate change, which is changing the geography of wine-producing countries by shifting more and more northwards while southern territories are increasingly at risk of desertification.

·       Also according to the results of a survey conducted by the branches specialised in Agribusiness, the wine supply chain is among the most impacted by weather-related risks. Investing in innovation can be strategic, focusing on selecting more resistant vines and exploiting the opportunities offered by digitisation and robotics.

·       Great opportunities may still come from foreign markets, where Italian wine is already highly appreciated but still shows potential, for example in China where French products dominate today. Wine tourism is growing, also thanks to the ability to stimulate new consumption opportunities through the link with the territory.

 

Intesa Sanpaolo

Intesa Sanpaolo, with €417 billion in loans and €1.4 trillion in customer financial assets at the end of March 2025, is the largest banking group in Italy, with a significant international presence. It is a European leader in wealth management, with a strong focus on digital and fintech. The Group will provide €115 billion of Impact lending by 2025 to support communities and the green transition, together with a €1.5 billion program (2023-2027) to help people in need. The Bank's network of museums, the Gallerie d'Italia, hosts its owned artistic heritage and cultural projects of recognized value.  

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