Thanks to the collaboration of Massimo Messina from D&D-Dafran & Darzoves, FreshPlaza made an assessment on the vegetable season in Almeria (Spain).
D&D's company warehouses.
As Massimo tells us, the 44th week of 2013 (28th October - 2nd November) saw low prices for excellent quality produce. Tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers were all of very high quality due to the fact that plants are young and fruits are exceptional. "Prices though did not reflect quality," says Massimo.
Average vegetable prices - Week no. 9 of 2012
| Product | Type/ Packaging | € per kilo (from Almerìa) |
| Tomatoes | loose M | 0.28 |
| Tomatoes | loose G | 0.40 |
| Tomatoes | bunch M | 0.56 |
| Tomatoes | bunch G | 0.78 |
| Yellow peppers | 0.83 | |
| Red peppers | 0.65 | |
| Cucumbers | 0.60 |
No particular rises are expected except for bunch tomatoes. "The main cause of low prices is still competition from Holland, as it is the end of the cycle for them and so they sell their produce at any price. It must be said though that prices reflect the quality."
Dafran & Darzoves' "Sweetkiss" date tomatoes
Dafran & Darzoves called them "Sweetkiss" - they are date tomatoes part of the small tomato family with a very particular oblong shape.
They are very sweet, as the sugar content is over 12%. "This year, our produce reaches 14% - they are sweet indeed," comments Massimo.
Despite their sweetness, date tomatoes are ideal for low-calorie and low-salt diets and they are rich in vitamins A and C as well as lycopene, a very important antioxidant against free radicals and they are also considered to have cancer fighting properties.
"Raw or just cooked, date tomatoes meet the most sophisticated needs. At Dafran & Darzoves, we love to pair it with a veal tagliata on a bed of bresaola and rocket."
Contatti:
Dafran & Darzoves
Tel.: +34 950 03 78 42
Fax: +34 950 29 06 40
Cell.: +34 672 28 47 31
Sig. Massimo Messina
Email: max@dafran.es
Web: www.dafran.es