Italy: Bad period for fennel

Price-wise, it is not a good period for fennel. It might be because of the quantities available, it might be due to the temperatures, but the fact remains that things have been dead calm for the past two months. 

Marco Babbi from Caligari & Babbi, a company that processes and commercialises this crop, confirms: "The market has been at a standstill and prices are being affected by this. There is a lot of produce available and consumption remains constant, so it takes a lot of effort to find a place for the entire production. We did sell a little bit more due to the fact it's Christmas time this week, but not that much." 



"September and October were good, but then productions overlapped. The Fucino campaign extended approximately 15 days, while the Puglia production shortened due to the fact transplants had been affected by the high temperatures. This meant a lot of produce became available in a short period of time."

Things might improve already after the New Year. "The produce from Puglia will end, while Calabria and Basilicata are slightly late. I think not a lot of fennel will be available until mid-January, so prices will go back to normal. Anyway it seems prices are the only thing that matters - you can work as hard as you like, but almost everyone only cares about the price."

"I fully agree with what Francesco Donati said on the fact that producers risk starving while trying to feed everyone else. As operators, we too need to support producers. I am aware of their expenses and we can't go lower than that. I also believe the last links of the chain, the ones closer to consumers, could work towards a minimum remuneration to guarantee the right income to operators without always demanding discounts and prices below cost."

Contacts:
Caligari & Babbi srl
Via E. Bevilacqua, 17
Savignano su Rubicone (FC)
Tel.: +39 (0)541 942599
Fax: +39 (0)541 201919
Email: commerciale@ortofruttacaligari.com
Web: www.finocchioitaliano.com