Prince de Bretagne's cooperatives are confident as they enter the second half of the artichoke season - all varieties combined - which represents around 5,000 tonnes of produce, or more than a quarter of the campaign's volumes. "From the end of August to the end of October, this is our second artichoke season. Since August 15, we've been increasing volumes and will be marketing this product for at least another two months," reports Pierre Gélébart, Product Manager at Prince de Bretagne.
Renewed interest in artichokes as back-to-school begins
Although the summer is an annual low point in terms of production volumes, the trend was particularly noticeable this year: "The main reason for this was the weather, with a lot of volumes arriving in June. This automatically led to a greater drop in production in July/August. But the second half of the season is off to a good start, both in terms of cultivation and sales. The buds are growing well thanks to the recent sunshine, and the plants are strong thanks to the rain we've had this summer. So quality is looking good. As for sales, we can feel a renewed interest in artichokes with the back-to-school season upon us. However, we hope that the heatwave won't last too long, as artichokes are still a cooking vegetable, best eaten at reasonable temperatures."
While Prince de Bretagne's large green and violet artichokes (Camus and Cardinal) are mainly marketed in France, the small violet and fleshy artichokes are also exported to Italy around the beginning of September.
Tender sales: an effective way of setting up operations and securing volumes
Although artichokes are mostly sold on the auction market, Prince de Bretagne has set up a tendering system to enable its customers to set up operations and guarantee volumes. "If their proposal is accepted, the merchandise is made available from Friday to Thursday of the following week. This provides a smooth price, a secure supply, and the opportunity to set up commercial operations with retailers. Thanks to the commitment that comes with this procedure, the goods will always be delivered first".
Packaging
Packaged in 60x40 wooden boxes according to size (12/15/24/30 heads), Brittany artichokes are also available in plastic crates and cardboard boxes.
To meet point-of-sale requirements, they are also available in 40x30 packs of 6 or 8 heads.
Processing
Following the closure of the processing plant (bottoms and hearts) in the spring of 2022, many small sizes were not being sold. "But the situation is improving, and volumes are being exported to European plants. Producers are listening to any specific requests from the industry".
For further information:
Pierre Gelebart
Prince de Bretagne
Phone: +33 2 98 69 38 71
Cell. : +33 6 62 92 64 74
[email protected]
www.princedebretagne.com/fr
