National shop windows

Most countries spend a lot of money on marketing support for their food products in foreign markets. Methods are diverse. In some countries, a government organisation is in charge of such activities, while in others, the same tasks are performed by an association of private enterprises. The idea of collective marketing first appeared in the USA, in the 1930’s, following the great depression. Marketing orders and agreements were developed. The same process begun in Europe in the 1960’s. The French SOPEXA and the German CMA are the oldest such institutions. No similar comprehensive organisation covering the whole food sector exists in Portugal. AICEP (Office of Commerce and Tourism) and three organisations of winemakers Viniportugal, Instituto Vinho do Douro e do Porto and Instituto do Vinho e da Vinha perform tasks related to the international promotion of food sector products. AMA Agrarmarketing Austria has competence in all areas of the sector, apart from wines. It has an annual budget of EUR 25 million. Budgets for the promotion of Italian food products are determined on the basis of specific events. According to Alessio Ponz de Leon Pisani, director of I.C.E. (Italian Institute of Foreign Trade) these budgets depend on the requirements of professional organisations and recommendations from ICE offices world-wide. Some provinces also provide financing for such events. 90 per cent of our budget is devoted to promoting wines – explains Kata Ádám from the Portuguese-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce. Wines also play a special role in Italian food export, together with olives, fruits and vegetables. SOPEXA has been focusing on countries where wine culture is not very strong yet. This is why their presence has been limited in Hungary. However, they focus on regions. Focusing on regions also works for other organisations. – I prepared a study about Hungarian agricultural imports from Austria in 2002, which accounted for only 4 per cent of the total at the time – remembers Ernst Zimmerl, officer in charge of agriculture from the Austrian Embassy. – My study was mentioned in a report made for Austrian TV about Austrian products in Hungarian supermarkets. As a result, the attention of agricultural organisations in Austria soon turned to the markets of new EU members and a promotional strategy was eventually worked out. Portuguese food products, primarily wines are promoted mainly at exhibitions and culinary events. The next International Exhibition of Wine Fish and Agricultural products (SISAB) is to be held in February 2009. – We not only organise events with a commercial purpose, but also events which inform people about ways to make their diets healthier – says Alessio Ponz de Leon Pisani. SOPEXA had also organised events, called “mini exhibitions” for many years. These have been replaced by less formal occasions called Apéritif à la Française, which have become very popular. Results are difficult to measure in the short run. However, it is clear that Italian flavours and products have become significantly more popular in the last 10 years. Marketing activities also contribute to the increasing popularity of Portuguese and Austrian products.