First, there were the high temperatures, then the heavy rain, and then the weather became hot again: as a result, there is now a very low production of Chioggia radicchio and prices are rising. In the province of Venice, those who manage to have radicchio can be very pleased.
Archive photo
"Prices are as high as I can remember for this period due to the lack of produce. Those who managed to save their produce get a very high gross saleable production since, at auction, radicchio sold at €1.50 - 1.60/kg. The fact is that volumes are generally much lower than during a normal year," reports Giuseppe Boscolo Paolo, director of the Chioggia market.
In previous years, the autumn radicchio harvest started around August 21st. "This year, the first bins arrived on September 3rd, which is a sign of a severe shortage. The rain of August 19th-20th caused flooding and, therefore, losses."
Giuseppe Boscolo Palo
"Other production areas such as Fucino have experienced high temperatures as well as parasite and virus attacks, so the market is rather drained in general. Now we need to see how long this situation will last," concludes the director.