Climate of great optimism over Syracuse's last quarter of new potatoes

The final phase of new potatoes in the Syracuse area is drawing near: The June and the beginning of July's harvest remain.

Roberto Campisi

"In this period, the intrinsic and exterior qualities of the potatoes are perfect - says Roberto Campisi, Sicilian agribusiness expert - An excellent skin with indisputable washability and an optimal starch content are the characteristics that mark the unique taste of a tuber grown in these fertile lands which, due to their vicinity to the sea, enjoy exceptional pedoclimatic conditions".

The harvest in this area is carried out by hand, to avoid damaging the Syracusean new potato's thin skin through mechanical means, due to the presence of stones in the ground. It is however thanks to these very stones, alongside Syracuse's red soil, and the mitigating effect of the Ionian sea, that this tuber is the first Italian potato to arrive on the counter's of the large retail market.

Harvest phase of the Syracusean new potato

"The Syracusean new potato - adds the manager - arrives on consumers' tables as early as March, consumers who can appreciate a new Italian product, the taste of which surpasses that of older, more tired potatoes from the rest of Europe, no doubt preserved for months".

An initial balance for the 2018 season
"The 2018 countryside - Campisi states - has been marked by a constant market throughout the harvest period, allowing producers to maintain an equally constant, non-fluctuating supply during the whole season".

"The initial harvest phase, which began in March, was characterised by a decent quantity in the field, accompanied by good tuber quality, grown to the point of harvesting, but with slow marketing, due to the high resale rate of preserved foreign potatoes. Our initial price was of 0,55 Euros per Kilo (product harvested in the countryside) and remained constant up until the last ten days of April".

"During the second harvest phase, between April and May, there were better yields that did not forgo the quality of the potatoes, which proved to be truly exceptional.
The price remained that of 0,50 Euros per Kilo throughout the whole of May, before settling on 0,45 Euros per Kilo during and subsequent phase and up until the present. Demand from consumers is good, especially Italians, who often prefer our product due to our greater care for the production process, health aspects and overall quality of the agri-food chain".

"Moreover - concludes the expert - the cultivation techniques and rigorous integrated production regulations, which the Italian producer wishes and is obliged to follow, have no equal elsewhere in Europe, where the preferred Egyptian product is far below our standards . In fact, 80% of the product has remained in Italy ".