"I have never had to face such a situation: there is a lot of demand for squash, but there is no produce. It is a very difficult moment, I've never had to tell a client I couldn't fulfil their order before," explained Giuseppe Ventura from La Zucca Rossa, a company working at Centro agroalimentare di Napoli (CAAN). "Many countries have low squash quantities. We finished the domestic produce from Policoro on March 14th 2023, since the quality was lower. We are even selling the produce that was discarded up until some time ago."
"This past month and a half has been disastrous for squash, characterized by very low prices. Now quotations have skyrocketed: we are talking about €1.30-1.50/kg for good-quality produce. The medium-quality produce is sold at €0.70-0.80/kg. The Portuguese produce sells at €1.20-1.30/kg".
(Photos supplied by Giuseppe Ventura)
According to Ventura, despite the higher prices of the foreign produce, quality is not exceptional. "There is produce from Tunisia, Morocco, Peru and Portugal, but the high prices and the shelf-life do not encourage imports. The weather was not helpful: in Morocco, for example, there was a heavy drought and now there are 40°C." Good quality produce is available in South Africa and Algeria too.
The wholesaler is expecting a shortage of produce over the next 15 days, then it will be the turn of the new foreign campaign.
There is hope for the South Africa produce
"We are focusing on the produce from South Africa. As far as I can see, quality is suitable, but the price is expensive. If we manage to close the programs we are currently negotiating, we will reach the beginning of the new Italian campaign. Anyway there are still 10-15 days to go before the arrival of the South African produce, so all we can do is wait."