It is time to take stock also for the Sicilian table tomato season. This time we contacted Gianfranco Cunsolo, producer of organic fruit and vegetables in the Vittoria area (Ragusa), as well as president of the Coop. AgroViva, member of the BIA Consortium.

“In this period, as almost every year – explains the expert – the producer prices are medium-high and, as regards production, the quality level is excellent and the quantities are good. This is due to a particularly mild winter season.  As far as the supply / demand ratio is concerned, we currently have more requests than we can offer. ”

“The most cultivated tomato segments, at least as far as we are concerned, are: cherry, date, smooth round and midi plum. Consumption trends are the ones that guide us in this direction and this trend is almost constant in recent years. these types of tomatoes lent themselves very well to long-term cultivation “.

“In line with the trend in demand, prices are also quite high, including non-organic products – continues the entrepreneur – as can be seen from the mercurial market of Vittoria Fruit and Vegetable Market of 8 April 2020, which sees the date at 2 , 61 Euro / kg, cherry at 1.50 Euro / kg, smooth round at 0.95 Euro / kg and midi plum at 1.87 Euro per kg. This is, in this case, the weighted average attributed to product. I remind everyone that the price of a given moment must be analyzed in the context of the annual average of a product, to understand the trend of an entire agricultural campaign. Moreover, high prices average with low ones that can also be below the remuneration threshold for the producer, as occurred in the not too distant past “.

“The reference markets for our organic product – says the president – continue to be the countries of Central Europe such as France, Germany and others. But, in recent times, Italy has also been growing for organic consumption. All this in a general context in which foreign competition heavily influences the price trend, on all the varieties and types grown in Sicily. Just think of all the tomatoes from North Africa and Spain. The latter has a greater share on its side aggregation and therefore a greater bargaining power, as well as a better transport policy. In order to bring out more the product of our country, it is necessary to spread on a large scale, with more consistency and reliability, those high levels that many Sicilian producers succeed, even in the their little one, to offer. ”

An eye to packaging

“Packaging – Gianfranco Cunsolo concludes – always determines an added value in the marketing of a fruit and vegetable product. At the moment, we are seeing a preference for cardboard boxes, for packages from 3 kg up to 6 kg in bulk and cardboard trays with flowpack for 250g up to 750g in size, especially for large retailers “.

Release Date: Thu 9 Apr 2020

Author: Gaetano Piccione

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