The campaign of the "new Ispica Carrot PGI " this year began on time, according to the calendar dictated by the regulations of the Consortium for the protection of the products.
Massimo Pavan
"We have been harvesting the first batches of branded carrots since February 1st," said Massimo Pavan, vice-president of the Consortium for the protection of the new Ispica Carrot PGI.
"Due to the intense cold of the last months - continued the expert - the product initially had a slightly smaller size, but with the improvement of the climate the production is aligning with our high standards and we can say that the situation is already totally normalized.
"At each start of the campaign - added Pavan - we see again with pleasure the satisfaction of the final consumers who have learned to recognize our brand product through the mass distribution in Italy and abroad".
"This season is particularly favourable - the manager stressed - because of the excessive heat that has characterized the traditional production areas of Europe, from central north to east. The abnormal temperatures of last summer caused more damage than the winter cold, resulting in a 40 - 50% decrease of quantity of the product. As a result, this has caused a lower storage capacity for the carrots in European storage, now favoring the supply of the Italian carrots, in particular the ones from Sicily with the PGI brand of Ispica. Of course, in our case, they are exclusively fresh carrots, with undoubted better quality in terms of nutritional and organoleptic characteristics, always and in any case better than in other products".
A further advantage derives from the fact that northern European operators, such as the Dutch ones, are trying to compensate the lower production with a higher price.
"We have gone from 0.20 € / kg last year to 0.35 € / kg this year for the product in the jumbo package- revealed Pavan - This additional aspect plays as a discriminating factor to favor the Italian carrot".
However, the vice-president underlines a critical obstacle for the new Ispica Carrot PGI (as well as for the generic Italian carrot): "I am referring to that phenomenon that sees the introduction in Italy of carrots from Israel, Spain and Portugal. You can find them in supermarkets, but, strange enough, you can not find information about their origin on the label, once arrived on the desks of supermarkets. These are commercial practices that require greater control by the relevant institutions, in order to protect the products of Italian excellence, such as the new Ispica Carrot PGI ".
"Nevertheless - concluded the entrepreneur - our carrot is always very fresh and crunchy, and continues to grow in terms of production and marketing volumes. This is also thanks to the information and promotion that the consortium carries out, to the point that from 4000 tons of the previous campaign, this year we expect to reach and exceed 5000 tons of branded product.
Contacts:
Consortium for the Protection of the new Ispica Carrot PGI
Via B. Spadaro, 97
97014 Ispica (RG) ITALY
Tel. +39 0932950964
Email:[email protected]
Web: www.carotanovellaigp.it
