A convention to discuss the potential of Patata del Fucino: a product demanded by retailers and even by famous brands such as Findus. A €50 million project involving Covalpa, Associazione marsicana produttori patate (Ampp) and Patfrut was also presented.
"We need to combine our strengths and invest in our sector. This is the perfect moment for those who want to invest, improve and tackle the market within a business network," explained Ampp director Sante del Corvo.
The convention to promote the Wine and Food project Regione Abruzzo PSR 2014 - 2020 measure 3.2. focusing on Patata del Fucino Igp was held on 5th April. 4000 hectares are dedicated to potatoes in the area producing 200 thousand tons in total. The most popular varieties are Agria and Innovatur, but the Laura and Labella varieties are also grown.
Consorzio di Tutela della Patata del Fucino Igp is doing a good job. The produce stands out and has already managed to catch the attention of Findus. Gloria Lombardi, marketing director at Findus, explained that "we use these potatoes to make our minestrone soup, together with basil from Genoa and onions from Tropea. These are the reasons why our minestrone maintains very high quality standards."
Alberto Clementelli from Network presented a research on the potato sector. It emerged that the cost of commercialisation services when potatoes are packaged in 5 or 10 kg sacks is of around €0.2480/kg, also including cold storage. Expenses for producers are high, especially when it comes to seeds, which can represent 25/30% of production costs.
"We pay around €0.27/kg on average for imported potatoes, while those we export are sold at €0.40/kg. In Italy, the consumption/production ratio is unbalanced, meaning there is a lot of room for high-quality domestic potatoes."
After Mario Nucci illustrated the role of Patata del Fucino Igp within the Wine & Fod project, Marco Cortucci from Coal reminded that, over the past 10 years, the weight of the retail channel went from 42 to 52%, while that of wholesale dropped from 37 to 25%. "Certified fresh products have grown by 5.7% against an average growth of 1%, meaning consumers still look for high-quality products." Coal is a cooperative of retailers with stores between 120 and 1800 sq m. It holds 9 and 8% of the market share in Marche and Abruzzo, respectively."
Regional councillor Dino Pepe also attended the convention, which ended with a report on the role of potatoes from Fucino in the Mediterranean diet held by Dr. Alessandro Notaro and with the intervention by Patfrut President Roberto Cera who stresses that aggregation is positive if made well.