"Just like with other products, we have to deal with fierce competition from Spain as it has good selections and quality and also lower production and processing prices."
Garlic plants.
Italy and France are now just "niche producers" so, even if they wanted to increase their production, processing and preparation would be complicated. "Luckily a part of Italian consumers still prefer the domestic produce, though we have lost our production capacity since it was easier to import and re-sell the produce."
According to the company, the main problem for Italian producers is not really represented by imports from Spain but rather by aggressive exports from the main producer worldwide - China.
Garlic in a cold storage unit.
Regarding the market, Tuccillo says that "unfortunately, at the moment things are not looking good. We have still overproduced despite the fact that there was a decrease in cultivated areas. The Spanish produce is available at a slightly lower price than last year and the Chinese one has more or less the same prices despite the quantities available from Argentina."
Garlic plants.
Crops are almost ready for harvesting in Europe, but stocks are still abundant, so it could be very difficult to sell all the produce before the new one arrives.
Garlic in a cold storage unit.
"Italian and Spanish productions are looking good at the moment. Reference prices for 2014 will be available when fresh garlic from Egypt arrives around 15th-20th March."
Contacts:
Antonio Tuccillo
Agrimpex Farming Srl
S.P. Caivano - Cancello
Contrada Sannereto
80011 Acerra (Napoli)
Tel.: (+39) 081 3195185
Fax.: (+39) 081 5207510
Cell.: (+39) 335 7746265
Email1: import@agrimpexfarming.it
Email2: agrimpexfarming@pec.it
Web: www.agrimpexfarming.it