"Sowing was carried out at the right time and in excellent conditions so quality should be extraordinary. Harvesting should start around 15-18 March and the produce should be available on shelves from 20-22 March."
"Production areas are 30% less than last year and prices should be good for producers. The lower supply from North Africa and Israel probably means Sicilian potatoes will be the protagonist."
"The right marketing strategy is needed though. We must not speculate down to the last cent, but identify a price to enter the market without fluctuations and in agreement with retailers."
"At the moment, Egypt does not seem very active in Europe, whereas Tunisia is more pressing despite the fact that the quality of its varieties is not up to Italian standards. Israel is sending grades below 45 and over 65 mm to the UK and Northern Europe, whereas the rest ends up on the European market with prices that are rather stable at the moment."
It must be stressed that, in these cases (Egypt, North Africa and Israel), we are talking about leap year productions (i.e. normal potatoes sowed at a different time than usual to obtain early harvests) and, although the varieties are good, the quality is far from that of Sicilian new potatoes.
"After a year like 2014, which did not enable us to reach adequate profits, the whole chain must understand how important it is to promote Italian new potatoes. They were once appreciated in all national and European markets, but their share dropped due to imported ones which have little to do with the authentic Italian production."
Contacts:
Romagnoli F.lli spa
Roberto Chiesa
Via Quarto di Sopra 1/7
40127 Bologna
Tel.: (+39) 051 6069616
Fax: (+39) 051 6069608
Email: roberto.chiesa@evita.eu
Web: www.romagnolipatate.it