Italy: UniCredit grants Petti an 8 million Euros loan

The funds are intended to help the group develop its business abroad

The European Food press agency announced on 15 November that the Italian banking group UniCredit had granted two loans for a total of EUR 8 million to the Petti group, a food company based near Noceria Superiore in the province of Salerno and which owns a factory in Venturina Terme, in Tuscany. The funds will be used to acquire the raw materials needed for making products for foreign markets.
The company has a six month grace period followed by a six month repayment plan, with the products for sale being used as collateral.

"Thanks to the financial help granted by the UniCredit group – stated Antonio Petti, the sole administrator of A. Petti SpA – we now have the necessary financial resources to increase our penetration of foreign markets, particularly those upon which we have not focused until now, like Israel, Australia, Belgium, Mexico and the United States.
Our aim is to make the Petti brand into one of Italy's main canned tomato brands in foreign retail distribution, particularly with the Italian Food range, by focusing on the quality and taste of the raw materials, which are exclusively grown in Tuscany. One distinctive feature of our exclusive low-temperature processing method is that it preserves the color and flavor of the freshly harvested tomatoes.”

Currently, the group has been operating for eighty years and declared a turnover of EUR 250 million (val. 2016). A leading operator in the field of tomato paste exports, Petti claims a 27% market share of this sector and is in top position among Italian exporters of products intended for remanufacturing.

Sources: European Food Agency