The supply chain of sweet chestnuts in South Tyrol

Journal title ECONOMIA AGRO-ALIMENTARE
Author/s Valérie Bossi Fedrigotti, Christian Fischer
Publishing Year 2014 Issue 2014/1
Language Italian Pages 21 P. 117-137 File size 281 KB
DOI 10.3280/ECAG2014-001006
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

Italy is the largest producer of chestnuts in Europe and its most advanced and chestnut-oriented regions are Tuscany, Calabria, Campania and Piedmont. This study, however, focuses on the chestnut supply chain in South Tyrol (Alto Adige/Südtirol), a northern province where chestnuts are currently of minor importance in relation to other crops, such as apples and grapes. Nevertheless, a small number of chestnut farmers still keep the historically-rooted tradition alive. A detailed survey of the chestnut supply chain, involving interviews with 138 producers, 49 distributors and 272 consumers revealed the strengths and weaknesses of the local niche market. Moreover, separate analysis of four sub-regions revealed that significant production and marketing heterogeneity exists. In orchard management, as well as in purchasing and consumption habits, three different local characteristics were identified: (i) around Merano commercial chestnut production and direct sales; (ii) around Bressanone chestnut wood production; and (iii) in the Valle Isarco the use of "chestnut trails" as spare time activities. New regional development strategies will therefore have to take into account geographical disparities when introducing innovations into this traditional agricultural activity.

Keywords: Chestnuts, market, supply chain, South Tyrol

Jel codes: Q13

  1. Adua, M. (1999a). Sweet chestnut production and marketing in Italy. Acta Horticulturae, 494(494), 49-54.
  2. Adua, M. (1999b). The sweet chestnut throughout history from the Miocene to the third millennium. Acta Horticulturae, 494(494), 29-36.
  3. astat (2002). 5° Censimento generale dell’agricoltura 2000. Bolzano: Astat, Istituto Provinciale di Statistica. Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano.
  4. astat (2012a). Popolazione e struttura demografica. Retrieved 28.02, 2013.
  5. astat (2012b). Turismo in Alto Adige. Anno turistico 2010-2011. Provincia di Bolzano, Italy: astat.
  6. astat (2013). 6° Censimento generale dell’agricoltura 2010 (vol. 8). Bolzano, Italy: astat.
  7. Bellini, E. (2005). The Chestnut and its Resources: Images and Considerations. Acta Horticulturae (693), 85-96.
  8. Bender, O. (2002). Die Edelkastanie - Regionalentwicklung mit einer traditionellen Kulturart in den südlichen Alpen. Patermanns Geographisce Mitteilungen, 146, 28-37.
  9. Bertazzoli, A., Ruggeri, A., & Samoggia, A. (2010). Short supply chain: analysis of the competitiveness of organic horticultural farmers at Italian regional level. Paper presented at the 118th seminar of the EAAE - Rural development: governance, policy design and delivery. Ljubljana: Slovenia.
  10. Bonilla Gurzeler, V. (2010). Die Rückkehr der Brotbäume. Natürlich Leben, 10, 38-41.
  11. Bounous, G. (1999). Chestnut trees and the landscape in Aosta Valley: interventions for restoring the traditional agricultural system. Acta Horticulturae (494), 69-72.
  12. Bounous, G. (2005). The Chestnut: A Multipurpose Resource for the New Millennium. Acta Horticulturae (693), 33-40.
  13. Bounous, G. (2006). Revival of chestnut culture in Mediterranean countries: Factors to improve the quality of productions. Advances in Horticultural Science, 20(1), 7-15. DOI: 10.1400/14439
  14. Bounous, G. (2009a). Chestnut industry development and quality of the productions. Acta Horticulturae (844), 21-26.
  15. Bounous, G. (2009b). Sustainable management of the chestnut plantations to obtain quality produce. Acta Horticulturae (815), 19-24.
  16. Bounous, G., Paglietta, R., Peano, C., Giacalone, G., & Parola, F. (1999). The landscape value of chestnut grove in Cuneo Province (Italy). Acta Horticulturae (494), 73-76.
  17. Bruhn, M., & Grebitus, C. (2007). Food quality from a consumer’s perspective. In L. Theuvsen, A. Spiller & M. Peupert (Eds.), Quality Management in Food Chains (pp. 243-254). Wageningen: Wageningen Academic Publishers.
  18. Shani, D. (1992). Exploiting niches using relationship marketing. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 9(3), 33. DOI: 10.1108/07363769210035215
  19. Burnett, P., Kuethe, T.H., & Price, C. (2011). Consumer preference for locally grown produce: an analysis of willingness-to-pay and geographic scale. Journal of agriculture, food systems, and community development, 2(1), 269-278.
  20. Caccioni, D. R. L. (2005). Ortofrutta & marketing: promozione, gestione e category management dell’ortofrutta. Roma, Italy: Agra.
  21. Campbell-Hunt, C. (2000). What have we learned about generic competitive strategy? A meta-analysis. Strategic Management Journal, 2000, 21(2), 127-154. DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(200002)21:2127::AID-SMJ75>3.3.0.CO;2-1
  22. Caramalli, P., & Caramalli, C. (2008). Produzione di marroni a Casola Valsenio (RA) nel ventennio 1988-2007. Paper presented at the Terzo Congresso Nazionale di Selvicoltura. Taormina.
  23. Castellini, A., Palmieri, A., & Pirazzoli, C. (2010). Economic aspects of the chestnut market in Italy. Acta Horticulturae (866), 485-492.
  24. Castellotti, T., & Grassi, G. (2011). Situazione e prospettive della castanicoltura da frutto in Italia. Agriregionieuropa, 24. Retrieved from Agriregionieuropa.it website.
  25. Conedera, M. (1994). Inventario e caratterizzazione genetica delle varietà nostrane di castagno da frutto Bollettino Società Ticinese Scienze Naturali (vol. 82, pp. 39-50). Lugano, Switzerland.
  26. Conedera, M., Barthold, F., Torriani, D., & Pezzati, G. B. (2010). Drought sensitivity of Castanea sativa: case study of summer 2003 in the Southern Alps. Acta Horticulturae (866), 297-302.
  27. Conedera, M., Bartholf, F., Spinedi, F., Ferrario, F., & Pezzati, G.B. (2011). Siccità estiva e castagno: un’ulteriore minaccia dagli estremi climatici? Sherwood, 178, 16-21.
  28. Conedera, M., Müller-Starck, G., & Fineschi, S. (Eds.). (1993). Genetic characterization of cultivated varieties of European chestnut (Castanea sativa) in Southern Switzerland. Spoleto, Italy.
  29. Cristinzio, G., & Testa, A. (Eds.). (2006). Il Castagno in Campania. Problematiche e prospettive della filiera. Caserta, Italy: Ed. Imago.
  30. Cuthbert, R. H. (2008). Strategic planning - niche marketing in the agriculture industry Project Report: Department of Rural Economy, Faculty of Agriculture & Forestry and Home Economics, University of Alberta, Canada.
  31. Dalgic, T. (2006). Handbook of Niche Marketing: Principles and Practice: Haworth Series in Segmented, Targeted, and Customized Marketing: Conceptual and Empirical Development. Binghamton, N.Y. and London: Haworth Press, Best Business Books.
  32. de Rachewiltz, S.W. (1992). Kastanien im südlichen Tirol 34.
  33. Fawcett, S.E., Ellram, L.M., & Ogden, J.A. (2007). Supply chain management: from vision to implementation: Upper Saddle River, NJ Pearson Prentice Hall.
  34. Fondse, M., Wubben, E., Korstee, H., & Pascucci, S. (2012). The Economic Organization of Short Supply Chains. Paper presented at the 126th EAAE seminar: New challenges for EU agricultural sector and rural areas. Which role for public policy?, Capri, Italy. http://purl.umn.edu/128205.
  35. Gaudes, A. (2004). The skinny on being narrow: a longitudinal study on the influence of niche-width in the presence of market turbulence. Journal of Comparative International Management, 7(2), 12-30. Retrieved from http://journals.hil.unb.ca/index.php/JCIM/article/view/456/759.
  36. Gold, M.A., Cernusca, M.M., & Godsey, L.D. (2006). Competitive market analysis: Chestnut producers. HortTechnology, 16(2), 360-369.
  37. Trento, D.d.A.d.P.A.d. (2001). Il castagno e il noce nella Provincia di Trento. Provincia Autonoma di Trento: Artimedia. www.kösti.it. Retrieved 13.01.2012.
  38. Guptill, A., & Wilkins, J.L. (2002). Buying into the food system: Trends in food retailing in the us and implications for local foods. Agriculture and Human Values, 2002, vol. 19(1), pp. 39-51, 19(1), 39-51. DOI: 10.1023/A:1015024827047
  39. Hartmann, M., Frohberg, K., & Fischer, C. (2010). Building sustainable relationships in agri- food chains: challenges from farm to retail. In C. Fischer & M. Hartmann (Eds.), Agri-food Chain Relationships (pp. 25-44). cabi: Wallingford, uk.
  40. Hennion, B., & Vermin, X. (2000). Sweet chestnut (vol. 166, pp. 14-17). France: Infos - Centre Technique Interprofessionnel des Fruits et Legumes.
  41. Hinrichs, C.C. (2003). The practice and politics of food system localization. Journal of Rural Studies, 2003, vol. 19(1), pp. 33-45, 19(1), 33-45. DOI: 10.1016/S0743-0167(02)00040-2
  42. Holloway, L., & Kneafsey, M. (2000). Reading the space of the farmers’ market: A preliminary investigation from the uk. Sociol. Rural., 40(3), 285-299. DOI: 10.1111/1467-9523.00149
  43. Ilbery, B., & Maye, D. (2006). Retailing local food in the Scottish-English borders: A supply chain perspective. Geoforum, 37(3), 352-367. DOI: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2005.09.003
  44. Ingene, C.A. (1995). A Note on Multi- Regional Marketing. Management Science, 41(7), 1194-1201. DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.41.7.1194
  45. Jahn, G., & Spiller, A. (2007). Controversial positions about th qs System in agriculture: an empirical study. In L. Theuvsen, A. Spiller & M. Peupert (Eds.), Quality Management in Food Chains (pp. 355-367). Wageningen: The Netherlands Wageningen Academic Publishers.
  46. Marsden, T., Banks, J., & Bristow, G. (2000). Food supply chain approaches: exploring their role in rural development. Sociologia Ruralis. DOI: 10.1111/1467-9523.00158
  47. Pascucci, S. (2010). Governance structure, perception, and innovation in credence food transactions: the role of food community networks. International Journal on Food System Dynamics.
  48. Pascucci, S. (2011). Factors affecting farmer’s networking decisions. Journal on Chain and Network Science, 11(1), 7-17. DOI: 10.3920/JCNS2011.x192
  49. Pettenella, D. (2001). Marketing perspectives and instruments for chestnut products and services. Forest Snow and Landscope Research, 76(3), 511-517.
  50. Pierrettori, S., & Venzi, L. (2009). The chestnuts “Filiere” in Italy: values and developments. Paper presented at the Modelling, Valuing and Managing Mediterranean Forest Ecosystems for Non-Timber Goods and Services, Valladolid, Spain.
  51. Pirazzoli, C., & Castellini, A. (2000). Application of a model for evaluating the environmental sustainability of cultures in hill and mountain areas: the case of berries and fruit chestnuts in northern Italy. Agricultural Economics Review, 1(1), 57-59.
  52. Renting, H., Marsden, T.K., & Banks, J. (2003). Understanding alternative food networks: exploring the role of short food supply chains in rural development. Environment and Planning A, 2003, 35(3), 393-411. DOI: 10.1068/a3510
  53. Revoredo- Giha, C., & Leat, P. (2010). Enhancing the integration of agri-food chains: challenges for uk malting barley. In C. Fischer & M. Hartmann (Eds.), Agri-food Chain Relationships (pp. 135-149): cabi: Wallingford, UK.
  54. Scartezzini, H. (2002). Diffusione e prospettive della Castanicoltura in Alto Adige. Paper presented at the Il castagno: Re della montagna, 19-20 October 2002, Brentonico (Tn), Italy.
  55. Segrè, A., & Politano, A. (2010). La filiera corta fra mercato globalizzato e mercato di nicchia (vol. 7, pp. 33-42). Firenze: Atti dei Georgofili 2009.
  56. Zenner, S., Wirthgen, B., & Altmann, M. (2007). The importance of emotional quality as buying pattern argument: results of a consumer survey. In L. Theuvsen, A. Spiller & M. Peupert (Eds.), Quality Management in Food Chains (pp. 293-301). Wageningen: The Netherlands Wageningen Academic Publishers.

  • Public Preferences for Farmed Landscapes: the Case of Traditional Chestnut Orchards in South Tyrol Valérie Bossi Fedrigotti, Stefania Troiano, Christian Fischer, Francesco Marangon, in European Countryside /2020 pp.99
    DOI: 10.2478/euco-2020-0006

Valérie Bossi Fedrigotti, Christian Fischer, The supply chain of sweet chestnuts in South Tyrol in "ECONOMIA AGRO-ALIMENTARE" 1/2014, pp 117-137, DOI: 10.3280/ECAG2014-001006