Gaetano Chinnici

A multivariate statistical analysis on the consumers of organic products

In recent decades there has been a tendency towards a “standardization” in the consumer habits of people living in countries with advanced economic development. This has been caused both by the change in the products available and in lifestyles and by the “power” acquired by modern distribution channels (large retail distribution). Apart from this development, however, there has been increasing interest, particularly in the last ten years, in dietary, health and hygiene products characterized by high quality production and content, which may or may not be closely connected with the history and/or culture of the territory. In order, therefore, to understand the mechanisms that regulate the consumer market of organic produce better, a survey was carried out to define the use, purchase and sensitivity to the price of these products in relation to the preferences expressed by consumers as regards the benefits associated with the consumption.

Standard output versus standard gross margin, a new paradigm in the EU farm economic typology: what are the implications for wine-grape growers?

A new farm economic typology has recently been introduced in the EU. This study compares the economic performance of wine-grape growers in four important quality wine areas of Sicily taking into account the different EU economic typology standards of standard gross margin (the old method) and standard output (the new method). The objective of this study is to identify the differences between the two methods and to ascertain the potential implications for small wine-grape growers’ profitability and their access to public support. We seek to determine whether restrictions can be identified that limit the potential benefits from rural development policies. For this purpose, we applied the economic criteria of the EU to a representative sample of Sicilian wine-grape growers in order to compare the economic profitability of wine-grape farms in protected designation of origin areas. This comparative approach has allowed us to categorize the economic size of the sample in accordance with recent EU modifications and discuss the possible impacts that the adoption of the new economic criteria would have on access to the Rural Development Programme measures for wine-grape growers.

La percezione della qualità dei prodotti tipici da parte del consumatore in Sicilia

The common agricultural policy over the years has expanded the tools of promotion and protection of farm produce quality. At the national level but also from Europe we are witnessing a change in consumer behavior: they become more and more relevant information needs, safety and food security, increasing demand for quality products and the willingness to pay for those products that meet consumer expectations. The paper focuses on the perceived quality of local products in order to identify those variables that influence purchasing decisions and dietary habits and consumer group. The survey was conducted using a principal components analysis to summarize the information that characterizes the choices of consumption, followed by cluster analysis which allowed us to confirm the presence of different segments of consumers of local products.

Analisi economico-gestionale del comparto vinicolo siciliano attraverso indici di bilancio

Sicily is the fourth biggest wine producing region in Italy; a total vineyard area of 125,000 hectares produces an annual average of around 6 million hectolitres. However, in recent years, the international economic crisis has also hit the island’s economy, slowing down the economic performance of the whole regional wine industry. The aim of this paper is to analyse the wine industry sector in Sicily, taking into account its economic and managerial outlook, by means of an evaluation of financial ratios (2008-2009) of wine-producing businesses. In particular, an analysis using balance sheet ratios has been carried out in order to evaluate both effectiveness and efficiency in the sector.

Prime valutazioni sull’impatto delle produzioni agroenergetiche in Sicilia

abstract In recent years the role of agriculture as a “reservoir” of renewable energy and whether to use the biomass for energy purposes has been constantly growing, as highlighted by its increasing importance in Community and National policies. Such situation could represent a significant opportunity for agriculture and forestry due to the large availability of products and by-products to obtain agro-energy, or specific crops, non-food raw materials derived from forests, crops, agricultural residues and agro-industry. In this context agro-energetic productions are likely to be very important, but they are still spread at trial, so it is not possible to define a specific market. The present paper designed as a contribution to detect some potential and critical points in the production process of herbage from energy. This aim has been reached through the analysis of feasibility conditions regarding the profitability of certain energy crops in order to compare economic performance with those expected by the cultivation of wheat and fodder.