Luca Brusadelli, wholesaler coordinator at Maap-Mercato agro alimentare di Padova, has talked to FreshPlaza about the trend over the past three months, especially for what concerns vegetables. "Things haven't been very lively and prices haven't been satisfactory. Of course the weather has had an effect with heavy rains in many production areas. In northern Europe, unexpected heat waves led to overproduction."
"For example, the high temperatures in the Netherlands have led to considerable tomato quantities, facilitating exports to southern Europe. We've seen Dutch tomatoes with a wholesale price of 40 eurocents, the price they had 20 years ago! This of course had a bad impact on the domestic produce. The same goes for aubergines and courgettes."
Onion prices are rather high. "The weather in northern Europe means the price of potatoes and onions is going up. I know of producers who are stocking up to sell the produce further on, when the produce will be lacking. In mid-August, I've seen Tropea onions sold at €2.50/kg. I don't believe fluctuations are good for the market, as we'd need it to be more stable in order to generate a profit for all actors while at the same time not affecting consumers."
Brusadelli stresses that the demand for products promoted on TV and by various TV shows such as soft fruit, ginger, pineapple and cocktail ingredients has gone up.
"With the end of the holidays, we're hoping for sales to pick up. We're based in Padua as wholesalers, but our marketing is also aimed abroad. The global market must see us as active operators."