"Our onion season started in mid-April and closed at the end of July. The Margherita White Onion PGI is a fresh product, so harvesting and sales take place at the same time, with limited use of warehouse stocks," said Giuseppe Castiglione, president of the Consorzio di Tutela della Cipolla Bianca di Margherita Igp (Consortium for the protection of the Margherita White Onion PGI).
"Increasing the average lifespan of the onion is one of the main goals of the project we are carrying out with the University of Foggia, in Apulia, and other selected partners," continued Castiglione.
Work carried out in the Margherita white onion fields
"Although we don't have complete and official data on the certified product, it is possible to draw some observations on the 2021 campaign. The prolonged period with no rain during the harvest made it possible to obtain onions that were flat, semi-flat and round, beautiful and with no defects. The other positive aspect has been the increase in demand from adjacent regions, which in our case has helped to free the market from unprofessional operators who are always ready to sell off the product, to the detriment of more qualified growers like us,” continued the president.
Work in the fields
"With regard to the certified product, even though there are no precise data, we have evidence of a strong consolidation of our brand in the large-scale distribution sector," he explained. All these factors have enabled the producer to obtain prices that are on average €0,5 cents per kilo higher than in previous seasons. This means that the quantity of product sold in the large-scale retail trade is increasing, compared to the quantity sold in the general market. Today we can speak of a ratio that is settling at 40% in the large-scale retail trade and 60% in the general markets."
"As I mentioned earlier, we have no product available on the markets. The growers are busy working on their production and harvests for next year,” concluded the president.
For more information: 
Giuseppe Castiglione
Consorzio di Tutela
della Cipolla bianca di Margherita IGP
Via Ronzino, 4
76016 Margherita di Savoia (BT)
+39 339 44 06863
info@consorziocipollabiancamargheritaigp.it
www.cipollabiancaigp.it