Autumn carrots will last until Easter and the European market is full with produce from Northern Europe. "We are now loading the remaining produce from Chioggia and the Ferrara area which had been sown in November. They will last until Easter," confirms Roberto Donà from Eurofrut.
"The new carrot campaign has started in Sicily, though volumes are limited and prices are high, so the market cannot deal with them yet. In addition, because of the mild winter, Northern Europe is still harvesting its own produce, so we cannot export ours. The only good news is that at least there seem to be no Israeli carrots in the Old Continent, as they are mostly destined to Russia."
Caab - the Bologna wholesale market. (Archive photo)
Combined with the availability of Spanish carrots, which are larger than the Italian ones and therefore preferred by Eastern European markets, all this is affecting wholesale prices. Donà reports that they are 30-40% lower than last year.
Prices should go up after Easter, when the 'old' carrots will no longer be available. "However, a lot will depend on Spain - harvesting is expected to be early, but the weather will do the rest as producers will uncover polytunnels next week. Nonetheless, the delay won't be as bad as the one experienced in the past two years, when the first carrots became available in late April/early May."
