Extreme heat and low production drive tomato prices in Italy to record highs at the source
"I've never seen anything like it, and I've been in this industry for decades: tomatoes are reaching unprecedented prices, €4.5 or €6/kg wholesale, and on top of that, they're not even high quality. I don't think all consumers can afford it in the long run."
Tazio Zavaglia, owner of the company Zavaglia Sergio, which operates in the Rimini CAAR (Regional Agricultural Center), points out that "tomatoes are the crop that has suffered the most from the high temperatures. Producers tell us that there was no fruit set and, therefore, little product. And what is available is often of questionable quality. These high prices have persisted for 20 days now, although they were already high from the beginning of the season."
There have been periods when the wholesaler received tomatoes that, in a normal season, would have been considered second-class or even worse, but at a price higher than the average for first-class tomatoes in a typical season.
"But it's not just tomatoes. Green beans are another benchmark, currently trading at around €4.5/kg wholesale. Lettuce remains between €1.80 and €2/kg, that is, almost 100% more than in other seasons."
In the case of zucchini, the trend has been less consistent. "Prices were very stable, then they leveled off, then dropped slightly, and then rose again. In any case, the price range has fluctuated between €1 and €2/kg. As for eggplant, my information is more limited, since I work with a single supplier in Verona who grows in substrate, and currently the price is around €1.50/kg, compared to the average of other years, which was €1/kg."
And what about the coming weeks? "I don't see a short-term solution," Zavaglia concludes, "because there have been difficulties in transplanting many species. The situation will remain complicated for quite some time."
