The Sicilian new potato campaign is in full swing and quality is high. FreshPlaza has talked about it with Giuseppe Leone, owner of a company located in Cassibile (Syracuse).
Giuseppe Leone
"Harvesting operations started on March 8th with initial prices of €0.80/kg, while they now stabilized around €0.75 at production. Quality is excellent with grades between 65 and 80. Demand is lively and comes from the main Italian markets, in the center and south of the country as well as in the north, from when the potatoes reach all of Europe. Production will end in May/June, considering that sowing ended in February. We have harvested around 35 tons/hectare so far, an exceptional quantity if we think that we usually do not exceed 20 tons this time of year. By the end of the campaign, we will have harvested 45 ton/ha, we rarely see these figures."
Pallets ready for shipping: the packets feature the wording "Leone, il re della patata novella a Cassibile" (Leone, the king of new potatoes in Cassibile)
"We supply potatoes in 20 kg plastic crates, as some of our clients prefer to re-process them according to their needs, but we also have a line of processed produce in 13.5 kg wooden crates. In addition, this year we also introduced a packet with my face on it as testament to the high-quality of my produce."
20 kg crates
"Despite the concurrent presence of the produce from Egypt, our potatoes are not affected by competition also thanks to the shorter distance they have to cover to reach the Italian and international markets, as well as to an objectively superior quality. After all, our production territory is famous for its unique red soil, which is rare and represents an added value when it comes to potato cultivation. This year we are cultivating 55 hectares, so we can meet all kinds of requests."
For further information:
Az. Agr. Leone Giuseppe
Via Elorina, 117
96100 Syracuse - Italy
+39 3470366106
[email protected]