Importazioni italiane di biomasse legnose ad uso energetico (1961 - 2009). Un'analisi quali-quantitativa dei flussi commerciali e delle criticità.

The world public opinion recently placed a strong emphasis on renewable energy sources and some international and national legislative actions were taken to promote them. Consequently, also woody biomasses market had a big stimulus and experienced a rapid evolution: this thesis analyses Italian import trade flows during the period 1961-2009. The analysis is based on data bases (often not homogeneous) provided by Istat (Coeweb) and FAO (ForesSTAT) concerning the following commodities: wood fuel, wood charcoal, wood residues and woody chips and particles. Elaborations are shown both in an aggregate and commodity-specific way and are focused on quali-quantitative aspects. Supplying-areas, main exporting countries, stability of the Italian trade partnerships and import concentration are also investigated. Finally, some key issues related to future development are discussed: in particular, the conflict between energy and industrial use, the uncertainty of the future supplies and the possible Italian priority actions. Moreover, an evaluation of the relevance of having reliable and up-to-date statistical data is also discussed.