This is caused by the lack of produce due to weather conditions. In Sicily, November was rather warm but January was suddenly very cold, causing a gap in production. The situation in the Latina area is similar.
"On Monday, courgettes in the Bologna, Verona and Milan wholesale market were sold at €3.20-3.50/kg and then sold on at the same prices. Supply is far less than demand and so prices went up."
"All prices went up by 20-30% due to the weather, but what happened with courgettes is rather exceptional as normally they are sold at around €1-1.80/kg."
The situation abroad is similar. Spain also had to deal with cold temperatures and a production gap. "Just think that Poland, which is not really a huge importer, contacted Italy as there were no Spanish courgettes available, but we could not help either."
Contacts:
Eurofrut S.p.A.
Sede: Centro Agro Alimentare CAAB
Via P. Canali - 40127 Bologna - Italia
Tel.: +39 051 2861326
Fax: +39 051 2861405
Email: sede@eurofrut.it
Web: www.eurofrut.it