The "La DOP per la Patata Novella di Galatina: una straordinaria opportunità di sviluppo per il nostro territorio" convention ("PDO for New Potatoes from Galatina - an extraordinary opportunity for our territory") promoted by the Patate Novelle di Galatina PO, was held on 28th April 2016 Alliste, Lecce.
When there is a special connection between the territory and a product, specific measures to safeguard and protect said product must be put in place. According to European regulations, in order to obtain the PDO-Protected Designation of Origin mark, products must comply with a specification that lists the requirements expected from producers, i.e. growing techniques, as well as from all other operators within the chain (dealers and/or packagers).
Each phase of the productive process and commercialisation will be monitored - all checks assessing the compliance of operations with the specification will be carried out by Technicians from the Control Body appointed by the Lecce Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture and Craft Trade, which is officially authorised by the Ministry for Agricultural Policy.
For what concerns the commercialisation of the product already bearing the PDO mark, Law no. 526/99 established that checks will be carried out by the Consorzio di Tutela (Supervisory Consortium), made up of both producers and dealers. The Ministry for Agricultural Policy represents the highest supervisory authority.
The non-compliance with the requirements listed in the specification will entail a series of consequences depending on the type of violation.
"The first certified potatoes will be available over the next few weeks. As it's only the beginning, there will be some improvements also in terms of packaging," explains Enzo Manni, sales manager of Cooperative Acli Racale.
Consumers tend to prefer products with a PDO mark, as it refers to a particular culture and tradition and guarantees visibility in the whole sector. They are in fact increasingly afraid of what is anonymous and unknown - the fact that the food they are about to eat has been monitored helps reassure them.
"The Sieglinge new potato campaign was early due to the mild temperatures. Consumption in March wasn't very high though and produce was available both from greenhouses and open fields. There were some problems in the demand and supply ratio, but we managed anyway. After Easter, volumes increased but remained limited. Now it seems that consumption will increase again, while quantities will remain limited but with an excellent quality." Demand comes mainly from abroad but domestic demand is also somewhat lively.
The Galatina new potato market is oriented towards exports to Central and Northern Europe, quantities sold to the domestic market are not significant. The main outlet is Germany, where the product has always achieved better quotations with respect to new potato varieties from other areas in Southern Italy. The produce is available between April and June, when local produce is still unavailable.
Depending on the year, new potatoes represent up to 90% of the exports from the Lecce province. In addition, the turnover generated reaches around €10-20 million a year. Around twenty companies work to process and sell the harvested product - they are generally part of cooperatives and are located in the municipalities of Alliste, Racale, Matino, Taviano, Casarano and Parabita.
Prospectives and objectives
Volumes currently reach around 30-40,000 tons a year and no significant changes are expected in the short-medium period (the drop in cultivated areas is compensated by an increase in yields). Northern Europe should continue to remain the reference market.
In the past few years, though, there has been more competition from countries in the Mediterranean, who can often count on an efficient commercial network that can better meet the needs of buyers. The Galatina new potato supply network is instead quite fragmented and, considering that the production cannot compete in terms of cost, the improvement of current conditions seems to depend on the capability of operators to maintain and improve the quality of the product and increase supply concentration.
In addition to strengthening the presence of the product on the main foreign markets, the main objective will be to promote it on the domestic territory involving all structures.
Thanks to the PDO mark, it will be easier to introduce regulations and norms that guarantee the quality and origin of "Galatina new potatoes": this of course also guarantees that all Galatina potato shipped have the right chemico-physical, organoleptic, dimension and waste characteristics and that they have been produced in the specific production area.