Garlic in the fiels.
"Production has increased in Italy and quotations are not expected to be good. Fresh garlic picked up from the grounds and loaded is currently sold at around €0.30/kg in Campania."
The situation is worrisome due to the excess of cultivated areas compared to the past two-to-three years.
"The campaign is almost over in Argentina, with prices dropping from the initial $30-35 per 10 kg crate to the more realistic $23-25. Producers are campaigning with the Argentinian and Brazilian public administrations to condemn and prevent fraud for what concerns Chinese garlic being imported to Brazil."
"It's almost harvesting time in China. The weather was good and production is expected to be 30% higher than in the past two years. We must keep in mind, however, that this increase means an overproduction as big as the European one. We believe the excessive quantities discourage speculation which, unfortunately, is always lurking in this country and tends to falsify market trends."
"In Spain, the campaign started with low quantities of produce in storage from the previous campaign, though there is a certain percentage of small-medium producers that have some stock available and are trying to sell it on the European markets, Italy included. Volumes are expected to be 15% higher than last year, which of course will drive prices down by 30-40%."
An increase in production is expected also in other European producer countries.
"It may be possible for the produce in June to reach the best price of the entire campaign, but quotations will considerably drop in August and September. What is more, we will have to deal with the weather of the next two-three weeks: we're all hoping it won't rain in the various production areas so quality can be good."
Contacts:
Antonio Tuccillo
Agrimpex Farming Srl
S.P. Caivano - Cancello
Contrada Sannereto
80011 Acerra (Napoli)
Cell.: (+39) 335 7746265
Email: import@agrimpexfarming.it
Web: www.agrimpexfarming.it