PETpla.net Insider 09 / 2014

EDITOUR REPORT 10 PET planet insider Vol. 15 No. 09/14 www.petpla.net Italy Part 1 by Waldemar Schmitke The Editourmobil Go to BrauBeviale 2014 Western Mediterranean tour reaches Italy. From Bergamo in the north the route takes us as far south as Sicily and then back again, the objec- tive being to give our readers an understanding of the beverages packaging market in Italy. The majority of the Italian Republic, and the capital city of Rome, lies on the Apennine Peninsula, surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea and the Plain of the River Po, as well as within the southern section of the Alps. It covers a distance of approx. 1,200km from north to south. The national territory of Italy borders on France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. The micro-states comprising the Vatican City and San Marino are completely surrounded by Italian national territory. In addition to the larger islands of Sicily and Sardinia there are a number of groups of islands situated off the coast. The climate is sub-tropical, sometimes with highly pronounced differences from one region to another. In the north the winters are cool and the summers long and hot with high atmospheric humidity; in central Italy it is considerably milder as a result of the influ- ence of the Mediterranean and, in the south, there is a hot Mediterranean climate all the year round with temperatures that exceed the 40° mark in the summer. With 60 million inhabitants, Italy is the fourth largest country in Europe after Germany, France and the United Kingdom. The bulk of the population is concentrated in the larger towns and cities and their immediate surroundings. Only six cities have a population of more than 400,000. In order of size these are: Rome, the capital, with 2.72 million (3.6 million if greater Rome is included), followed by Milan, Naples, Turin, Palermo and Genoa. With Milan and Naples and surrounding areas each having a population of 3.6 to 4 million, this means that approx. 20% of the population of Italy live in the three cities of Rome, Naples and Milan alone. Economically speaking there is a pronounced divide between the prosperous north and the less developed south of the country. The principal commercial hub of the country centres within the Milan - Turin - Genoa triangle with its high population density. Economy (Foreign Office – Economics, March 2014 ) Following the collapse of its gross domestic product following the 2008-9 financial crisis, Italy experienced weak growth (+1.7%) in 2010 and 2011. This did not last and in 2012, the economy contracted (-2.4%), and by 2013 the country was once again in recession. The col- lapse affected domestic demand in particular. By contrast, exports fared better, and by 2011 were registering an 11.4% increase rising by a further 3.7% in the following year. In 2013 they appeared practically static overall (-0.1 %). Imports in 2013 declined by 5.5%. In 2012 inflation rose to 3.0% (or 3.3% harmonised Eurostat value), from Nuremberg Milan Rome Naples Palermo Tunis Al giers Rabat Casablanca Marrakech Seville Madrid Lisbon Bologna Monastir Agadir Tan gier Valencia Cordoba Bilbao Oporto Andorra La Vella Venice Turin Florence Messina Barcelona Zaragoza