The Italian peppers do not always respond to the demands of modern retailing, which needs a constant quality and also high-profile aesthetic characteristics. It was recalled yesterday during our live dedicated to this vegetable, Giuliano Canella , responsible for fresh purchases of Ali Market (pictured below).
But with varietal innovation on the one hand and a renewed commitment to production on the other, the race for competitors has also started in our country, Spain and the Netherlands in the first place. The road is still long, but there is optimism along the supply chain, as emerged from the interventions of the managers of the seed company Vilmorinand Rodoc of Scafati (Salerno), a company engaged in both the production and marketing of vegetables, including peppers.
A distributor, Canella recalled, thinks about the ” real, tangible quality perceived by the consumer . When it comes to vegetables, one of the primary aspects is the aesthetic side: it is not that we do not consider the taste side, indeed if possible we seek it, but the beauty of the product is the first sign that reaches the consumer. The pepper lends itself in the exhibition sequences to be seen in mass, to give color to the counters; we like, on vegetables, to try to give a visual impulse to the consumer when he enters our store. To try to offer quality all year round with above average standards, we move to various production areas.
The category of peppers is for us the one where the Italian product is less present – underlined Canella – because we believe that from the aesthetic side the foreign pepper, the Spanish and Dutch, is superior to the Italian one in twelve months: intense color, interesting size, guarantee of durability at the point of sale and then at the consumer’s home … These are all positive factors that lead us to this choice. Then in the summer we buy Italian product, but we manage it differently:
Gerardo Russo , sales manager of Rodoc (in the photo below), commented on the start of the commercial campaign for the Campania production: “It started very well, a little late for the cold spring, but as prices are right and we have very good expectations “.
And speaking of the pursuit of quality, the choice of variety is of fundamental importance. Rodoc works with Vilmorin’s Volturnio F1 which, as Russo reiterated, “gives a beautiful, homogeneous fruit and with the quality we can make the difference. In the summer period we have equipped ourselves with the right varieties and new production techniques: compared to the past we have made great strides. And if foreign products may be superior in terms of aesthetics, from a culinary point of view we have nothing to envy. We are on the right path to reach the levels of Spain and Holland and the seed companies are accompanying us on this path “.
“Continuity and uniformity are the critical points for the Italian pepper market – highlighted Aldo Gargiulo, Vilmorin’s Italy development manager (pictured above) – Unfortunately we find ourselves working in different areas, with different cycles and a wide varietal panorama: it offers a product that is always uniform in color, shape, taste and shelf-life is difficult.
But we do our best to guarantee these parameters on an ongoing basis, genetics can give a valid answer, we are investing heavily in research in the various production areas and we have aesthetic varietal screening. Our goal is to develop fruits suitable for commercialization in modern channels, with genetic resistance, which can help market segmentation. The future of peppers is certainly bright – concluded Gargiulo – we are working to bring new varieties to the Italian market that can better respond to the needs of the supply chain “.
Among the fruits of Vilmorin’s work on the pepper segment is Volturnio F1, a red half-long. In yesterday’s live broadcast Giuseppe Izzo (Southern Italy Vilmorin commercial technician) was connected by a greenhouse in Sparanise, in the province of Caserta, together with the producer Vincenzo Izzo. The technician of the seed company showed “very balanced plants, with medium vigor and a leaf cover that allows the passage of the sun’s rays and therefore also a balanced ripening. Fruits tend to grow outside the plant with a truly remarkable quality. , which allows an excellent in-box presentation, with an excellent contrast on color and brilliance “.
The owner of the farm, Vincenzo Izzo, told his experience with Volturnio F1. “It is a pepper that gives results, every year we invest a little more. The fruit is satisfying also for the very high specific weight of the pulp and for the bright color that makes it distinctive”.
And for all these characteristics, as Vito Altieri (local product promoter Southern Italy Vilmorin) pointed out , “Volturnio F1 fully meets the needs of the market. It gives qualitative continuity from the first cuts to the end: a guarantee for producers and traders”.
