Special
Greenhouse Vegetables
An unprecedented scenario that leaves us re The past two years have been very intense for the greenhouse horticulture sector, touching nearly all production sectors, but with a much more marked degree of difficulty if we consider that producing food is closely linked to climate trends..
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igh-quality food is made from specia- with higher production prices than in the lized crops, with standards that must previous year,” said Pavan. meet not only the needs of end consumers, who are increasingly careful to sustaina- “If the last two and a half years have seemed ble products and to their own health, but to have severely tested us, nothing comalso those of the supply chain, who need pares with the period from summer 2021 continuity in production, quality, and to the present. Temperatures in July were reliable services. Manager Massimo Pavan exceptionally high, reaching 48.8 °C in the analysed the trend of both the previous province of Syracuse in mid-summer, with and ongoing Sicilian greenhouse vegeta- persistent highs above 40 °C for several ble season. days in the rest of the island. In autumn, intense rainfall arrived, with flooding “2021, just like the previous year, was of greenhouses in some areas located in marked by a number of significant factors, south-eastern Sicily, while frosts halted such as the pandemic, the pressure of the the growth of vegetation. In the meantime, ToBRFV virus on tomatoes, and climate the ToBRFV has continued, and continues, change. While we have continued to see to mow down the production of tomatoes, a progressive regression of the New Del- especially large berries, with significant hi virus on courgettes, we have not seen losses in yields. Needless to say, the repersigns of decline of the Tobamovirus. In cussions for Sicilian agriculture have been both cases, however, improvement was severe,” said the expert. due to diversification in agronomic management and not to genetic changes, but While the blockades in the main Asian something is happening, especially in the ports have slowed down logistics around courgette segment. Other greenhouse the world since last year, the last few crops, such as aubergine and peppers, months have been marked by a vertigihave continued to move in line with 2020, nous increase in production costs, with 46
AGF Primeur • Gewächshausgemüse • 2022
price rises for raw materials, fertilizers, agripharmaceuticals, energy, transport and fuel,” continued the manager. “Four days of transport strikes in March have also created enormous difficulties to our supply chain. It is an unexpected scenario, which makes us regret the worst crises of the last 20 years, especially in the light of a war in the middle of Europe, where no business can avoid losses in economic and financial terms.”
“We have been seeing high prices for all vegetable crops for some months now. As an example, on small red tomatoes, with peaks of €3.50 per kg, peppers at €2.60 per kg and eggplants and courgettes even over €2 per kg. These prices have begun declining, unlike those due to speculation (and therefore under review by the Italian government authorities), but they do not compensate for production losses due to climate and plant disease damage and, where there have been higher revenues, these have been wiped out by uncontrolled increases in everything else. The international situation is very fluid and discourages new investments, and the industry’s approach is a wait-and-see attitude, attentive to day-to-day developments. “However, the energy crisis also opens up new scenarios, the effects of which will have to be verified as the current
