The domestic garlic production does not meet demand, so the rest is imported even though retailers do tend to help the Italian produce. In 2014, Italy sold abroad half of its domestic harvest and imported just as much. Certified high-quality garlic goes abroad, while the imported one has a lower price and quality.
Ettore Navarra, technician from Azienda Le Aie, talks about their produce, part of Dop Aglio di Voghiera. "Quantities are good and yields (dried weight) are 10-12 tons per hectare. The dry season did not affect production and we even managed to solve the fusarium problem that affected a few batches."
Ettore Navarra
"I'm not an expert as regards the market but I can say Italy produces less than it consumes, so the domestic produce always finds a place. What varies is the price. It should never drop below €2.5 to producers for high-quality packaged products. The foreign one is usually always cheaper because of the lower costs (and higher yields per hectare), and there are those who would like to level prices downwards."
Retailers usually pay attention to origin but are not as strict with the Pdo mark. Abroad too the mark is not as promoted as it should. "This is because consumers don't know the difference. They more or less know Doc for wines but don't know Pgi and Pdo. Luckily at least they can distinguish when a product is good."
An international convention on garlic was held in Sulmona in March to take stock of the situation and define a united course of action. For example, national and European coordination is needed to standardise the use of active principles.