Italy: Quality low priced imported onions affect market
The Italian wholesale market is not doing well because of the arrival of good quality foreign onions sold at lower prices.
"Abroad, production was abundant but consumption was low, so golden onions have started arriving on our markets at very low prices," explains Stefano Zucchini from Novafrut srl. The produce is grown mainly in Germany, Austria and France and is sold at a wholesale price of €0.20/kg.
"In addition, their quality is better than ours as summer over here was quite wet, so our onions were damaged."
Despite this, Italian golden onions are sold at €0.28-0.30/kg. The differences in price and quality means people tend to prefer the foreign product. The situation is slightly better for red and white onions.
"We import less red onions - the foreign produce is sold in Italy at a wholesale price of €0.40-0.50/kg, just like the Italian one. White onions, which only come from Italy, are sold at the same price."
The situation is also due to the climate, as temperatures are still rather high. "We are waiting for the cold weather to arrive, as things should improve. I say should because consumption is lower than previous years, so you never know."
Source Fresh Plaza 05 Dec 2014