We are in the middle of the Borettana onion campaign - so far, there have been no problems concerning demand, however there were a few problems price-wise.
"The Piacenza Chamber of Commerce is registering around 15 cents per kg, while we are trying to obtain higher prices to guarantee a minimum to producers. 15 cents are in fact the minimum to cover production costs", explain Matteo Freddi from Freddi Prodotti Ortofrutticoli.
Three Freddi products with Borettane onions. Left to right: the classic sweet and sour recipe and the jam and onions in soy sauce.
This happened because of the high volumes of onions available - even the yields of Borettana onions have increased by 25% per hectare. In addition, "we have noticed that many producers have started growing onions this year, probably because various crops encountered problems last year (e.g. industry tomatoes) and therefore producers decided to focus on the one that performed well."
Borettane onions.
"The fact is that you cannot grow this type of onion without knowing who to sell it to in advance. Those who improvised found themselves without buyers and started selling at a lower price thus ruining the market for us."
The season has just started and will last for a while, so all is not lost. "Things can improve as, though it's true that there is more produce available, it is also true that we don't know how it will perform when stored."
Poplar-wood packaging.
Freddi also attended the River's Food Festival in Boretto, the city of origin for these onions. In just two days, he managed to sell something like 500 kg of produce. "It is proof that consumers are looking for something new. Often supply contracts are very strict and do not leave room for products with a few defects, but we tend to forget that consumers are interested in good flavour and are even willing to pay a little more for it."
Consumers are also curious about new products, and that is why "we are testing new products - an onion jam, onions in soy sauce and the more traditional sweet and sour recipes. We are also developing a new packaging for peeled onions using poplar wood, perfect for the premium range."
Contacts:Freddi Prodotti Ortofrutticoli S.n.c.
Via Lama, 41
Calerno di S. Ilario d'Enza (RE)
Tel.: (+39) 0522 679831
Fax: (+39) 0522 679854
Email: commerciale@cipollefreddi.it
Web: www.cipollefreddi.it