"Italy: "Limiting the volume of vegetables, aiming at good prices"
"We are trying to better understand what the market actually needs. From October to November 2012, we registered more activity, because Spain was lacking in broccoli and France in cabbage. The Italian productions have partially filled the gap, with prices raised up to 2 euro/kg. Now the average price is around 0.50 to 0.60," the manager says.
The agricultural firm currently counts about 10 hectares of broccoli and about 15 of cabbage. The weather has delayed the development of vegetables: the product that was supposed to be ready over Christmas, it was available only with the arrival of the new year. The parasitic cabbage fly was a further problem, as larvae, feeding on the roots of the plant, destroy the production.
The main market for the Apulian firm is at the moment limited only at a local level, but in the future the company manager hopes to approach also foreign markets which, in his opinion, may offer some more advantage.
"The product is sold as bulk, but we are planning to buy some machinery, once the warehouse is complete - he reveals - For the coming season we are looking into the possibility of growing peppers, melons, tomatoes, zucchini, and considering the idea of processing. "
The intention is in any case to involve also other producers in order to limit the cultivation and diversify the varieties, avoiding supply surplus. "In the area of Foggia (Apulia) I recorded this year low volumes on the market that have led to a good market conditions, with higher prices" the manager says.
Also in the future it is expected the possibility of expanding the company's visibility, by means of to the creation of a website, for example, or investing in a presence with a company stall at some wholesale market in Northern Italy. "Personally, I'm still young, I see many prospects."
