Italy: Low supplies helped sustain potato, onion and carrot prices

Ortofrutticola Parma, located in Castel San Pietro Terme (Emilia-Romagna), has been producing, processing and commercialising potatoes, carrots and onions for 50 years.

Potatoes
"We produce approximately 180-200,000 quintals of potatoes per year. The Agata variety makes up approximately 60% of our production. Primura, Ambra, Vivaldi and Marabel, as well as some red skin varieties like Cherie and white flesh potatoes follow. In addition of course to the "Selenella" variety, which is enriched with selenium." 

"Production is lower with respect to last year, not so much because less land is being cultivated, but rather because the yield per hectare has decreased on average by 10-15%. This was due to dry weather and high temperatures between the beginning of June until the end of July in the Bologna and Ravenna provinces. Luckily, we haven't been affected by the potato tuber moth (Phthorimaea operculella) like some other areas."

The owner underlines how satisfying quality and dry matter contents were, and how they led to high quality stored products.



The company sells potatoes in 1.5, 2 and 2.5 kg vertbags, loose in resealable RCP boxes and in 5 kg bags. Over wrapping usually indicates the PDO Bologna, Selenella, "CQ" (Emilia-Romagna Controlled Quality) etc stamps.

Onions
Mauro Parma explains that "we produce approximately 30,000 quintals of onions per year, cultivated in Emilia-Romagna in compliance with CQ standards. We produce mainly white - Ice Pearl, HoneyMoon and Cometa - and gold Crochet onions, as well as lesser quantities of red onions."

"Onions are good quality, however grades are rather small, and therefore profits were lower despite good initial investments and a good bulb development."



"Onions are packed in 750 grams vertbags or 1 kg nets. They are also sold loose in RCP boxes. Just like for potatoes, a number of over wrappings are available upon request." 

Carrots
"Carrots are cultivated mainly in the Ferrara province, in the Fucino area (Abruzzo) and in Sicily. We produce 25-26,000 quintals of produce per year, which we sell during the whole year. The main variety is Dordogne, characterised by a deep orange colour. It has a cylindrical shape and is excellent for fresh consumption. We are also the sole producers of Selenella carrots, which we trade together with other three members of the consortium," continues Mauro. 

The production from Emilia-Romagna lasts for 7 months, covering both the winter and the spring campaigns.



"The quality, which was good, is now lower, but it's normal towards the end of the season. We will now start in Sicily, where the quality is really high."

Carrots are available in 750 gram or 1 kg bags, 500 gram trays or loose in RCP boxes. Selenella carrots are sold in 600 gram trays. The produce is sold with the QC and the conventional mark.

"Our main sales channel is national mass retailing. We supply a number of chains with which we plan cultivated surfaces and varieties in compliance with specifications. We also supply some vegetable markets and trade groups."



"In 2012, the price trend for the three vegetables was quite good, with a 15-20% increase with respect to the 2011 campaign. The increase in prices depended on scarce foreign production, especially as regards potatoes and onions, but our production areas have also had to face a rather difficult season, with scarce rainfall and high temperatures."

"Consumption is more or less stable. We foresee a 10-12% reduction of investments for potatoes and onions in 2013, whereas those for carrots won't change. We can therefore assume that the market will be quite empty by harvesting time, which is rather positive," concludes Mauro Parma.

 
Contacts:
Ortofrutticola Parma
Mauro Parma
Via Mori 690
Castel San Pietro (BO)
Tel.: (+39) 051 6958020
Fax: (+39) 051 6958044
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.ortofrutticolaparma.it