Economic aspects of the chestnut market in Italy

According to the latest available data, the chestnut area in Italy is nearly 800 thousands hectares out of a total forested area of 8.8 million of hectares. Forestry statistics show that the fruit chestnut area is about 150 thousand hectares, concentrated along the Apennine ridge, but the area under cultivation is actually much more limited and, according to Istat, did not exceed 54 thousand hectares in 2007, distributed in 30 thousands farms. Italy is the main European producer of chestnut and the fourth worldwide, with a potential yearly supply of over 50 thousands tons. However, Italian supply has been considerably lower in the last years, because of bad weather conditions and the spread of the oriental chestnut gall wasp (Drycosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu). The average yearly value of chestnuts production goes from 50 to 85 million euros; the international trade is quite relevant, as Italy exports about 20 thousand tons per year, while imports ranging from 3 to 12 thousand tons per year, related to the domestic supply. Chestnut growing is usually no more than an income integration for farmers, but the attention to the quality of the product is very high, as Italy has seven registered PDO/PGI. It’s also to be noticed that chestnut is strongly connected with the culture of every area where it is present, and it generates a relevant socio-economic return.