Italy: Slow year for endive at Lusia market

It seems to be yet another negative season for endive, as prices were low during the whole year. Cultivated areas are also shrinking due to the difficulties and productive costs producers have to endure to make the produce ripen. In fact, in order to be sold, endive must be perfectly ripe and really white. To achieve this, each single head must be tied manually before harvesting.

This complicated and costly procedure is no longer recognised by the market, which prefers the produce that has been harvested and processed mechanically. Of course the companies that do so can sell their endive at a lower price, as labour costs are far cheaper, but mechanical operations are only viable for medium-big companies, and there are only very few of them in the area.

The quantity of industrial produce affected all quotations, also driving down the price of the vegetables harvested traditionally.

Not many products managed to achieve more than €1.50/kg, a price that was anyway reached only during the first three months of the year. During the other months, the produce was sold at €0.70-0.90/kg, so it wasn't exactly profitable.