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ITALY is the main rice-producing country in Europe. It forms a large peninsula in the
Mediterranean Sea, with 300,000 km2 in area, supporting a population of 57 million. Rice is grown mainly in the northern Po Valley. Agriculture as a whole occupies only 8% of the workforce. Arable land makes up 31% of the total area, but agriculture contributes only 2.6% to the GDP.
General information
- GNI per capita PPP$, 2000: 23,470
- Internal renewable water resources: 179.4 km3
- Incoming water flow: 7.6 km3
- Main food consumed: wheat, oil and fat, meat, sugar and honey, milk
- Rice consumption, 1999: 5.9 kg milled rice per person per year
Production constraints
Rice yield has stagnated during the last decade. The main constraints to sustainable rice production in Italy are
- Low temperature
- Stagnation of the yield potential of rice varieties
- High production costs
- Blast
- Red rice
- Dependence on external market for the product
Production season |
|
|
|
Planting |
Harvesting |
Main season |
Apr-May |
Sep-Oct |
Basic statistics, Italy |
|
1985 |
1990 |
1995 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
Rice |
Area harvested (ha) |
185,510 |
214,124 |
239,259 |
222,705 |
220,795 |
220,850 |
Yield (t/ha) |
6.1 |
6.0 |
5.5 |
6.3 |
6.2 |
5.9 |
Production (t) |
1,122,700 |
1,290,700 |
1,320,850 |
1,393,524 |
1,362,452 |
1,300,000 |
Rice imports (t) |
352,201 |
51,065 |
58,383 |
60,908 |
66,212 |
na |
Paddy imports (t) |
131,892 |
1,928 |
36,726 |
30,466 |
11,548 |
na |
Rice exports (t) |
727,432 |
576,947 |
523,898 |
601,597 |
667,367 |
na |
Others |
Paddy exports (t) |
25,276 |
41,369 |
24,511 |
13,677 |
13,105 |
na |
Population, total (x103) |
56,771 |
57,023 |
57,338 |
57,369 |
57,343 |
na |
Population, agriculture (x103) |
6,030 |
4,904 |
3,885 |
3,362 |
3,201 |
na |
Agricultural area (x103 ha) |
17,095 |
16,840 |
15,333 |
15,377 |
na |
na |
Irrigated agricultural area (x103 ha) |
2,425 |
2,711 |
2,698 |
2,698 |
na |
na |
Total fertilizer consumption (t) |
2,102,149 |
1,944,380 |
1,865,900 |
1,742,000 |
na |
na |
Tractors used in agric. (no.) |
1,227,134 |
1,429,756 |
1,460,000 |
1,475,000 |
na |
na |
Source: FAOSTAT online database. |
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