"Potatoes prices are fine. At the Bologna wholesale market, 10 kg bags of high-quality produce are sold at 50-70 cent, while 2.5 kg bags reach 85-90 cent. Volumes are slightly lower than last year, but the main problem is the fact that, with these temperatures, consumption is slow," explains Roberto Piazza, director of Fedagromercati-Acmo Bologna.
Caab - Centro Agro Alimentare di Bologna wholesale market (Archive photo).
"Onions are doing okay, especially thanks to red onions from Tropea which reach €2.5/kg. White, golden and red onions are sold at 50-60-70 cent/kg - not a terrible price, but not so good either. There is a lot of waste (10-15 and even 20%) due to the weather, which damaged the bulbs."
"Tomatoes are doing terribly. Pachino cherry tomatoes are sold at €1.20-1.30/kg when we hoped they would exceed €2. If we consider packaging, processing and handling costs, producers are left with nothing. Sicily is facing the worst situation, as the cold weather has not arrived yet and produce from Apulia and Campania is still around."
Caab - Centro Agro Alimentare di Bologna wholesale market (Archive photo).
The situation is not better for the more seasonal products. Artichokes had started rather well at the beginning of the season, whereas now "we are talking about 45/50 cents per head for the Tuscan produce, whereas medium/normal quality heads hover around 10/20 cents/kg. The abnormal temperatures are making the plants blossom, so producers have to harvest quickly."
"For what concerns fruit, apples are of good quality but they are still sold at 50-60-70 cents/kg. Oranges reach 50-70-85 cents/kg - the only variety that exceeds €1 is blood oranges, even though they are a niche product. People generally tend to prefer lower prices."
Caab - Centro Agro Alimentare di Bologna wholesale market (Archive photo).
"There are various reasons for this situation. On the one hand it depends on the weather while, on the other hand, people tend to be less interested in food after the Christmas holidays."
It could also be due to a strategic issue. "We have finally understood that lowering the price of potatoes and onions does not increase sales. Instead, we would need to improve the quality of the product. At the moment, what we are selling is quite anonymous. Retailers do not stress the origin of the product as much as specialised shops do," concludes the director
Author: Andrea Minghelli
Copyright: www.freshplaza.it
