The entrepreneur refers that "in Campania and Apulia, we even decided to interrupt operations because of the lack of demand. We cannot even quantify how much of the produce won't be harvested. Northern Italy is at a standstill too."
Sieglinde potatoes, the main cultivar of new potatoes produced in Apulia.
The campaign did indeed look positive towards half of the campaign: "plants were developing early in June, then the weather made all operations impossible, for our soil is very clayey. We still cannot predict when we will be able to harvest. What is worse, a heatwave would also be a problem because it would solidify the soil and cause further damage."
Sieglinde potatoes, the main cultivar of new potatoes produced in Apulia.
The campaign did indeed look positive towards half of the campaign: "plants were developing early in June, then the weather made all operations impossible, for our soil is very clayey. We still cannot predict when we will be able to harvest. What is worse, a heatwave would also be a problem because it would solidify the soil and cause further damage."
The Colomba variety.
The first produce harvested does give us an indication of the state of the tubers. "Yields are not very high and shapes are quite uniform, but it is impossible to make an assessment while potatoes are still in the ground."
The delay is also causing a gap in supply, though the market does not seem to notice. "The lack of produce is not affecting prices, for there is no demand at the moment. What is more, we cannot even export because a) there's still a lot of 2013 produce and b) Northern Europe is already harvesting its own potatoes, earlier than usual."
Above and below: Gioconda variety.
A supply chain that must be overhauled
Domenico Citterio then makes a consideration on the difference between what consumers spend and the actual price of the produce: "consumers pay more for additional services, as unfortunately there are many factors that affect prices nowadays such as certifications, processing, packaging, transport, marketing activities and operational costs. We cannot lower our prices, we barely make enough to survive! It is the intermediate costs that must be reduced - some services are indeed a luxury and we can no longer afford them as a system."
Domenico Citterio then makes a consideration on the difference between what consumers spend and the actual price of the produce: "consumers pay more for additional services, as unfortunately there are many factors that affect prices nowadays such as certifications, processing, packaging, transport, marketing activities and operational costs. We cannot lower our prices, we barely make enough to survive! It is the intermediate costs that must be reduced - some services are indeed a luxury and we can no longer afford them as a system."
"Just like families had to downgrade, we have to reduce useless costs. I'll make an example concerning potatoes, but it could work also for other products: unwashed produce lasts longer than pre-washed one. We could work on this to cut post-harvesting costs. Potatoes would be cheaper and even last longer."
Contacts:
Domenico Citterio & C. Srl
Via delll'Industria, 1/b
37036 S. Martino B.A. (VR) - Italy
Tel.: (+39) 045 8780144
Fax: (+39) 045 8780311
Email: info@citteriopatate.it
Web: www.citteriopatate.it