The Province of Asti: the territory and its economy The province of Asti was established in 1935 by taking its 118 municipalities and separating them from the province of Alessandria. Situated between the provinces of Turin, Cuneo, Alessandria and Savona, its shape looks like a bunch of grapes, which seems to underline the typical crops of the territory, which is mainly hilly and spread over five agricultural areas • Upper Monferrato Asti hills • Middle Monferrato Asti • Belbo and Tiglione hills • Lower Bormida di Millesimo and Spigno hills • Tanaro Astigiano plain The business fabric is made up of approximately 27,000 enterprises, 12.8 for every 100 inhabitants, dominated by agriculture. Despite the small sizes of typical Asti enterprises and the highly competitive market, the local system shows no signs of weakening: industrial production continues its positive trends, handicraft enterprises are on the rise, agriculture is tending to specialise and consolidate, and commerce, mainly restaurants and hotels, is extremely lively as well. The general recession, which created a transfer in resources from industry to agriculture, together with a strong produce promotion policy, consolidating production activities and developing supplier activities, have all helped make the wine production in the Asti economy its strongest point fully backed up by the growth in exports. 35% of enterprises are in agriculture, 24% in manufacturing, 20% in commerce and the rest in services. The share of agricultural enterprises is much higher than the national average and that of northwest Italy as a whole. The sector is broken up into small enterprises, and over the last five years has begun a unification and consolidation process, with a high percentage of the agricultural land effectively used (70%). In 2005, vines occupied 18% of the total cultivated area, confirming its position as the most widespread crop. The production of wine grapes in the Asti province is the highest in Piedmont, at 40% of the total and a gross saleable production of ¤130 million, being seventh biggest in the domestic market. The figure that best expresses the concentration of vines in the province is given by the relationship between gross saleable production and total agricultural production: this indicator is 45% and places the Asti area in top position nation-wide. Asti wine production boasts 35 DOC wines: ever since controlled denomination origin was introduced constant improvement has increased the production of DOC wines from 36% of the total in 1990 to 70% in 2004, a real landmark for wine transactions in northwest Italy. There are also some very important red wine producers and grap pa distilleries, a traditional product in Asti and very successful in both home and foreign markets. Strictly correlated to agricultural production is the food industry, in particular food packaging and sparkling wine production, the latter almost entirely in Canelli, with some very important labels. Wine and food transformation and production activities create a very high level of supplier activities: machinery and instruments for the wine industry, glassworks, cardboard factories and cork factories. In industry, there are a high number of factories and employees in the motor car and electromechanical sectors; there is also a high number of small-medium sized steelworks and metal structural works. The sector with the highest number of employees is building: with 3,700 units and a yearly growth rate of 5%, representing 13.7% of total enterprises in the province of Asti. Handicraft production involves 1,900 production outlets, 28% of the total, with a slight yearly increase, although there is a decrease in the engineering field due to the crisis in car industry supplier companies. Artistic handicrafts comprise an important tapestry works and a restoration workshop for works of art that are famous throughout the world. Commerce is characterised by a widespread network, with new openings above all in retail stores. The most important commercial centre is the capital of the province, where the fruit and vegetable market is situated and the weekly markets. The hotel sector is growing and over the last five years 8 new hotels have been opened (+17%) along with 149 other accommodation facilities (+171%). The restaurant trend is also very comforting and there are currently 900 outlets open with a 5% yearly increase. Exports from the Asti province in 2004 were almost one billion euro. In the first nine months of 2005 there were exports of ¤ 719 million euro with an increase of 4%. 23% of Asti exports are machines and mechanical equipment, followed by drinks (wine and distillates) at 16% and constantly rising. France and Germany are the main commercial outlets for Asti enterprises: exports to France account for 22% of the total and Germany accounts for 32% of local wine exports and 18% of total exports. Outside Europe, the most interesting market is Japan, where sales of wine and sparkling wines have increased by 35% over the last five years. Chart prepared by Elsa Rissone, Study Office, Asti Chamber of Commerce Tel. 0141.535211, E mail [email protected] For further information: www.piemonteincifre.it .