Heat damage keeps Italian tomato prices near €3.50/kg at Sicilian markets

Wholesale tomato prices in Italy are holding at exceptionally high levels after repeated heatwaves cut production in Sicily. At the Vittoria fruit and vegetable market in the province of Ragusa, vine tomatoes are quoted at €3.50 to €3.60 per kilogram, a level that according to myfruit.it inevitably pushes consumer prices above €5 per kilogram.

Sicilian output down to a fifth

Toni Margiotta, who represents the wholesalers at the Vittoria market, told myfruit.it that the surge has little to do with energy or fuel costs. Vittoria is a production market, where goods arrive directly from the surrounding farms. “The price is not high because petrol has gone up, but because there is no product,” he said. “Supply and demand. When availability collapses, the price rises.”

Exceptionally high temperatures caused extensive crop damage. “If in this period they used to produce 100, today they produce 20,” Margiotta said, adding that the public assumes growers are getting rich, “but that is not the case. They have suffered very heavy damage and the goods were burned by the heat.” With most of the crop lost, high unit prices do not recover the missing volume. On energy, he noted that costs rise for producers whether they sell at 20 cents or at one euro, while the price itself depends only on product availability. Margiotta said he understands consumer frustration at seeing tomatoes at €8 or €9 per kilogram in supermarkets, but that this does not automatically translate into wealth for producers. myfruit.it notes that fuel costs explain only part of the increase, and that weather has disrupted farm planning, leaving less product on the market and a share of supply arriving from abroad.

Quotations at Vittoria

The market is registering very firm values across the fruiting-vegetable range:

• Datterino: around €5 per kilogram
• Ciliegino: above €4, reaching €4.20 per kilogram
• Piccadilly: close to €4, averaging €3.80 per kilogram
• Vine tomatoes: €3.50 to €3.60 per kilogram
• Purple aubergines: around €2.50 per kilogram
• Cucumbers and courgettes: around €1 per kilogram
• Peppers: €2 to €2.10 per kilogram for good quality
• Top-grade peppers: around €2.50 per kilogram, but a minimal share of the market

Shortages reach German wholesale

The supply gap is visible north of the Alps. Thorsten Gille, managing director of Lotze Fruchtimport GmbH & Co. KG, based at the Hanover wholesale market, told FreshPlaza that the recent heatwave had a marked impact on the supply situation for fruiting vegetables. “Especially as regards tomatoes and peppers, we had to deal with shortages and consequent price increases at supply level. Vine tomato quotations at times reached as much as €20 per case, although the situation appears to have stabilised slightly in recent times.”

Lotze Fruchtimport has been sourcing and marketing fruit and vegetables for more than 40 years and is one of the longest-established operators at the Hanover wholesale market. About half of its turnover still comes from stall sales, aimed mainly at weekly-market vendors and specialist retailers, while deliveries to restaurants, industrial kitchens and grocery store branches form the second pillar of the business. Gille said he sees further growth potential in supplying the catering sector.

Seasonal transition in fruit

Gille described the sector as entering a quieter seasonal transition. “October and November are traditionally difficult months for marketing fruit, since summer fruit disappears from the market while the European citrus season is only just gaining momentum.” He called the stone fruit campaign a success, with small volumes from Spain and France expected to remain available until the end of the month. In week 37 the company recorded the first more substantial shipments of Elstar, Gala and Holsteiner Cox from the Altes Land, with demand encouraging at the start of the season. Gala and Braeburn from New Zealand and Chile served only as a supplement this year, as large stored volumes were available after the previous season's abundant harvest. Italian Cotton Candy grapes, with a marketing window of around six weeks, continue to gain popularity.

At the Verona wholesale market, table grape values vary widely by variety and origin. Extra-category Italian white Italia in single-layer packaging is quoted at €1.30 to €1.50 per kilogram, while first-category seedless white from Puglia sold loose reaches €2.30 to €2.50 per kilogram. Among stone fruit, Italian white-flesh nectarines in sizes 80-90 are at the top of the list at €1.80 to €2.20 per kilogram, against €0.70 to €1 per kilogram for Spanish yellow-flesh fruit in sizes 67-73.