- With an investment of up to 100 million euros in 2021 Philip Morris Italia renews its commitments towards the Italian tobacco agricultural sector with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry
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This is what was announced on the occasion of the online meeting promoted by Coldiretti and Philip Morris Italia.
Stability and the possibility of planning will be guaranteed - it was emphasized by the parties - to a strategic sector for the development of the country which has over 50,000 employees in the cultivation and primary transformation phases.
This is the highest investment in the Italian tobacco supply chain by a private company, in line with the memorandum of understanding signed in 2019, which provides for investments of up to 500 million euros over five years, covering approximately 50% of the total Italian production and 100% of that of the companies associated with Coldiretti through the Ont division - National Tobacco Organization.
"There are about 1,000 small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises with which we are sharing a long-term evolutionary path - said Marco Hannappel, president and CEO of Philip Morris Italy - which sees farmers playing a fundamental role in the transformation of our sector towards a smoke-free future, to replace cigarettes in the shortest possible time with innovative products ".
In particular, the agreement provides for confirmation of the purchase of the raw material up to the promotion of social and environmental sustainability programs for all the farmers involved.
The renewal signed today confirms the commitment of PMI towards Italy which has generated agricultural investments for a total of about 2 billion euros since 2000, as well as an investment in the Bologna area of over 1 billion for the first factory in the world for smokeless tobacco products.
(HANDLE)