Prosecco exports to UK drop for first time in 10 years
Prosecco exports to the UK have dropped for the first time in ten years, according to Coldiretti.
The Italin agricultural association blamed Brexit for the 7% drop in Prosecco being shipped to the UK in the first six months of 2018. Coldiretti said that the UK accounts for more than a quarter of all exported bottles of Prosecco.
The tensions caused by the negotiations on Brexit, the trend in exchange rates but also some “nationalistic fake news” aimed at discrediting Italian bubbles seem to have had an effect on trade, it said, pointing to reporets in the UK press that Prosecco could cause tooth decay and gum disease.
Coldiretti added it was concerned that the UK's departure from the EU could result in legislation that is unfavourable to Italian agri-food exports. With less than a year until Brexit, an agreement has not yet been reached on the recognition and protection of food products with designations of origin.
The orgnisation expressed concern that ifake Parmesan to Prosecco could be flooding the market. It also raised concern about the impact of the traffic light nutrition system used in many British supermarkets, saying it believed that 85% of Italian products could be rejected under this system as it is not based on the quantities actually consumed, but only on the “generic presence” of a certain type of substances which is said could lead to “misleading conclusions.”