The weather lately has been giving us some lovely days with mild temperatures but this has also meant slow sales for an autumn-wintery product like broccoli.
"Broccoli are coming mainly from Apulia, but there are not many volumes available and demand is quite low both in Italy and abroad," explains Bruno, a wholesaler operating in Verona.
The Verona wholesale market (Archive photo).
As regards domestic consumption, "the weather is to blame as temperatures are 8 degrees above the seasonal average, so people are not buying winter produce," explains Continental Fruit, another wholesaler. Wholesale prices of broccoli hover around €1-1.10/kg.
Exports are a problem because of the Spanish produce, which "does not arrive in Italy because it cannot compete with our prices and is therefore destined to other foreign markets, where it can undermine Italian broccoli because it is of excellent quality as well as cheap."
The weather is the only thing that can change this situation, "and apparently we will not have to wait long. Things should improve next week as temperatures are expected to drop all over Europe."
Author: Andrea Minghelli
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