Quantities of the following are very limited: broccoli, cauliflowers, fennel, lettuce and spinach. And prices are going up.
Broccoli, for example, is currently sold at €3.50-3.60/kg. Even the Spanish produce sells at €3-3.20/kg. Foreign suppliers saw demand rise and have realised that volumes are lacking, so they are shipping more produce, which are sold at prices above the seasonal average.
It's incredible that what is lacking is always more popular. A wholesaler sold 4 pallets of broccoli in an hour at €2.90-3.00 when it usually takes 2-3 days.
Photo: Daniele Gotto.
The price of fennel went from €0.80-1.00 to €2-2.50/kg. Cauliflowers reached €1.50 for the white varieties, €2-2.20 for the Roman variety. Spinach reached €3.00.
But it has been very cold in Piedmont too - producers are only sending in leeks, Savoy cabbage, turnips and squash.
Lettuce, which almost entirely comes from Fondi and Latina, is sold at €3-3.50/kg.
Prices are stable for a lot of products such as carrots, potatoes, onions, cabbage and turnips, and the same goes for peppers and tomatoes, as there is a lot of produce coming in from Spain.
This situation is worrying especially because many crops have been compromised by the cold temperatures, so produce will definitely be lacking in the next few months.
Contacts:
CAAT Scpa – Società Consortile Centro Agro-Alimentare Torino
Strada del Portone, 10
10095 Grugliasco (TO)
Tel.: (+39) 011 3496810