The early carrot campaign in Sicily has just started, with low production volumes. Most of the requests come from Northern Europe and are specifically for organic early carrots, with a preference for Demeter certified biodynamic carrots. The situation for organic and Demeter carrots in southern Europe and the quantities available for April and May is provided by Federica Giadone from Natura Iblea's foreign sales office in Ispica (Sicily).
Federica Giadone
Exclusive producer of organic and Demeter early carrots
"The situation for the production of organic and Demeter carrots in southern Europe is not easy," explains the manager. "At a time of great difficulty, due to the lack of rain and the resulting high production costs, many historical companies have unfortunately closed down and the few remaining companies are facing increasing demands. In particular, Natura Iblea seems to be one of the few, if not the only, company still offering Demeter carrots. We are, however, ready to supply the foreign markets where there is a growing demand for organic, in particular for biodynamic early carrots."
"We are lucky to have underground water reserves on the farm, which have provided the necessary irrigation and made up for the lack of rain this autumn," says Giadone. "To achieve this result, however, we had to make major investments in photovoltaic systems and at the same time rationalize water consumption. This was the only way that we were able to carry out a spring campaign with a good quantity and of excellent quality."
Risk of production gap in April
"Thanks to a well-planned production calendar," she continues, "we have been able to secure 70 percent of our production, so there is no risk for our long-term customers. However, it is possible that there will be a production gap towards the end of April and that there could be a shortage for those customers who did not have a supply contract with us in place last autumn. We've also purchased a new packing line to meet the needs of our business partners, and a new 4.0 machine will enable us to process around 100 kilos of packed product per minute. By contrast, Demeter-certified carrots are processed almost exclusively in boxes, with an estimated production of around 1,300 tons."
For more information:
Natura Iblea
C.da Marabino
97015 Ispica Italy
Tel.: +39 0932955696
Tel.: +39 3270162406
E-mail: cs@naturaiblea.it
www.naturaiblea.it