Italian traders are still scrambling to find supplies of garlic of at least acceptable quality. The situation is not expected to change much before Christmas. The first shipments from Argentina should be on board in the next couple of days and the product will then be in Europe in January.
Argentinian garlic from the new harvest
"Many Spanish growers and traders have run out of stock and there are limited quantities available to meet market demand. At the moment all attention is focused on South America, especially Chile and Argentina. According to Antonio Tuccillo, director of Agrimpex Farming, "Although prices were already high, they are still rising.
New harvest of Argentinian garlic
"It all started with unfavorable weather conditions, which drastically reduced the availability of the product in China, but most of all in Spain. And these are the two countries that export the most garlic in the world. So, it was inevitable that the world market would be affected by this situation," continued Tuccillo. "Fortunately, the weather in South America is currently favorable. As a result, we are expecting excellent quality from this area of origin, albeit at quite high prices."
Braided garlic from Spain
This trend can only be curbed "once we have products from the new Mediterranean harvest," according to the company's director. This will be the case in March with garlic from Egypt and in May with garlic from Spain, Italy and France. Unfortunately, in Italy because of excessive rainfall and in Spain because of extreme drought, we have already had problems with planting in recent months. The season is expected to be unstable and affected by the weather.”
Re-packaging of Turkish garlic at the packing station of Agrimpex Farming
"Finally, it is worth mentioning that countries such as Egypt and Turkey are showing an increasing interest in garlic sales, given that the cost of cultivation in these countries is much lower than in Italy, Spain or France," concludes Tuccillo.