Promotion and protection are the main tasks of PGI Consortia, which, through European recognition, promote products with a unique story and organoleptic properties, and that combine high quality with tradition and innovation. It is precisely with this in mind that a promotional activity dedicated to Carota novella di Ispica PGI was organised on 19 and 20 March. The press tour (click here to see article) addressed the production and marketing of a product that can be defined as high quality, even just because it is a new carrot with a harvesting window that opens and closes in the space of a few months. It has, therefore, nothing to do with the generic, often refrigerated carrots found on shelves throughout the year.
© Gaetano Piccione | FP.comPresident Pavan presented the Consortium's activities at Palazzo Bruno di Belmonte, headquarters of the Ispica (RG) municipal administration, in the presence, among others, of Mayor Innocenzo Leontini. (Click here to see the photo gallery)
The consortium gathers 18 companies including producers and packers. It obtained the PGI mark in 2010, and it started the certification process in 2011 with a quantity of 400 tonnes. Growth has been remarkable over the years, reaching the goal of 4,000 tonnes in 2024. This Consortium interpreted this result as a confirmation of the value of its work and of the territory, which has spurred it on to make further efforts to assert the superior quality of the product in retail outlets for the benefit of consumers.
© Gaetano Piccione | FP.comJournalists in the fields
"Despite the small size and a presence on the market limited to four months a year - from 1 February to 15 June - we have managed to regain a market that had previously been lost, and to recover the identity and sense of belonging to the product's territory of origin, i.e. values that were in danger of disappearing due to competition. The ability of producers and the intrinsic peculiarities of Ispica carrots have made it possible to overcome a system that was penalising the sector and to obtain recognition as one of Italy's excellences. Our carrots stand out due to their freshness, sweetness and crunchiness, characteristics that cannot be compared to those of competitors on the domestic and foreign markets. The latter often supply carrots ripened between August and October of the previous year and stored either in the fields or in cold storage units, leading to a loss of nutritional value and taste," reports consortium president Massimo Pavan.
© Gaetano Piccione | FP.comMechanised harvesting operations
According to the consortium, Carota Novella di Ispica PGI also boasts a higher concentration of beta-carotene and an important percentage of falcarinol, an anti-cancer substance. These elements make it a vegetable with high health characteristics and position it in the segment of foods that protect health.
© Gaetano Piccione | FP.comRural landscape: mechanised carrot-harvesting activities in the background. (Click here to see the photo gallery)
More checks on repackaged products
"Nonetheless, there are also some weaknesses. In particular, we have found that an increase in the price of carrots - albeit a small one - triggers a system of importing carrots from other countries, including Portugal, Spain, Israel, Turkey, Serbia, and Egypt. These imported carrots, often in 1,000 kg packages, are then repackaged and sold on the Italian market. The Consortium would like to point out the lack of specific checks at the importers to verify the final destination of the foreign produce. This situation distorts the perception of the possible non-Italian origin of the goods on the shelves, despite the fact that they have objectively been imported."
© Gaetano Piccione | FP.comTray with Carota Novella di Ispica PGI
'We do not want to alarm consumers about the wholesomeness of the imported products, but we do want to emphasise that passing off imported products as domestic goods is a scam which causes significant damage to local producers. The influx of foreign products at times of increased market demand leads, in fact, to lower orders and, therefore, lower prices for Italian producers. For this reason, the consortium's main mission is to strongly request more controls at the ports of entry of the goods, to verify their traceability and ensure compliance with regulations."
For more information:
Massimo Pavan
Consorzio di Tutela
Carota Novella di Ispica Igp 
Via B. Spadaro, 97
97014 Ispica (RG) - Italy
info@carotanovellaigp.it
www.carotanovellaigp.it