In Europe the garlic harvest campaign started with serious problems related to quality, particularly in Spain, which is the largest producers of garlic in Europe and one of the major exporters of garlic at an international level.
"The bad quality caused a drop in commercially viable volumes, which was already being feared (see FreshPlaza of 06/17/2020). The early product showed the most damage, to the point that about 50-70% of production was discarded because inadequate for consumption," said Antonio Tuccillo, administrator of Agrimpex Farming.
At the same time, the number of exports has increased, which has contributed to the scarcity of the product. Furthermore, it became clear that the quantities for winter-spring sales were almost reduced to the bone. This caused a rush to buy the late Morado garlic and raised prices substantially," continued Tuccillo. "We are at a point where prices have reached levels that, normally, at this time of the year had never been achieved."
In the meantime, from China, even though the quality production was excellent, with a good caliber and high yields, the medium-low prices of June rose by about 30-40%, mainly due to the sales and the good market prospects.
"With the ongoing purchases in Spain, the U.S. market has contributed to increase the prices of the good quality product. Brazil has also contributed to the increase in prices in China, considering the good import flows from this country," affirmed Tuccillo.
In this scenario, Italy and France, according to the director of Agrimpex Farming, are struggling to follow the increase in quotations for their production.
Good opportunities, instead, for the southern hemisphere, such as Argentina, Chile and Peru. "These countries are happy with the current market situation and expect that their production, which will be harvested between October and January, will have a promising business opportunity, on the assumption that they are able to produce good quality."
"In the meanwhile, here in Europe we are scheduling the sowing for the next production and it is likely that we will have an increase, as long as the producers can economically deal with the circumstances", concluded Tuccillo.