“Great turnout Brancaleone to the third assembly publish on “case” Bergamot from Reggio Calabria, held at the municipal library organized by the Committee of bergamot growers of Reggio Calabria together with Copagri Calabria, Free farmers-ANPA, Conflavoro agriculture, Nuova Unci Calabria, USB Lavoro agricolture and the promoting committee for the PGI Bergamot of Reggio Calabria. Bergamot growers, processors, representatives of cooperatives, local mayors and political exponents of the right and left are united against the boycott by the Calabria Region of the ministerial approval of the PGI which took place in December”. This is how the Bergamot growers’ note begins after the meeting in Brancaleone on PGI bergamot.
The PGI production regulations were also distributed to the large audience present on this occasion. During the presentation of the entire process that led after three years to the ministerial approval of the PGI Regulations, the inconsistencies and shortcomings of the PDO hypothesis emerged which for the speakers was “something non-existent and unacceptable but which for private interests is blocking the true development process of the bergamot production chain”.
The words of Giuseppe Falcone
Giuseppe Falcone of the Reggio Calabria bergamot growers’ Committee highlighted how precious time is being wasted in a context of climate and economic crisis and in which the price of bergamot is not decided by the market but by the industry cartel, as well as highlighting the critical issues of the PDO, whose process the Ministry has never undertaken: “It is sufficient to examine the documentation presented for the extension of the specification of the PDO essence to the fruit, to understand that it is a copy and paste of the old specification of the essence: the indicated planting spacing would exclude the majority of bergamot growers, the use of the Bitter orange as a rootstock has no longer been permitted in Italy for a decade, there is an absolute lack of the documentation necessary for the approval of the hypothetical PDO and the lack of the famous university studies much vaunted and necessary to obtain the PDO is now official. The videos of the various television interviews of many people involved in this never-ending story have demonstrated the lack of knowledge of the regulations and of the problem, which turns into a public lie: it is crazy that presidents, ladies and gentlemen, institutional representatives and some trade associations are express through hearsay and without ever having read the documents as they should before making a decision”.
Giuseppe Mangone’s speech
Giuseppe Mangone of Liberi Agricoltori argued that “the time for words is over and we can no longer wait to conclude an approved process or that of the PGI to instead cover the interests of nothing or the PDO only because the decision makers have been fooled and cannot admit it; Occhiuto and Gallo didn’t even have the courtesy to respond to our requests and to our April letter in which we were open to a unitary solution, highlighting the irreversible critical issues of the DOP hypothesis and suggesting an immediate and optimal hypothesis for everyone. It means that we will all go and visit them together, with the families of the 508 IGP members directly at the Citadel, for a frank and hopefully decisive discussion.”
The thoughts of Francesco Macrì
Francesco Macrì of Copagri Calabria underlined how paradoxical it is that we continue on this path, which is objectively wrong only because we are convinced that “the PDO is better than the PGI” without knowing the reasons and when everyone now knows that this is not the case, in addition to the fact that the PGI Regulations in art. 8 specifies, as if it were a PDO, that the entire supply chain takes place only within the designated area and therefore it is not possible that product can enter from outside, an argument that the counterparty brings forward even though he knows he is lying. The paradoxical situation today has become literally ridiculous: it is the result of the widespread malpractice of not applying study and in-depth analysis of every topic”.
The words of Aurelio Monte
Aurelio Monte of USB Lavoro agricultural has underlined how the “bergamot case” is managing, at a local level, to bring the right and the left into agreement to deal with a real problem of the territory: “Everyone talks about DOP but in fact in more than twenty years what purpose has the essence served other than keeping a rich bandwagon going? To nothing! Since it doesn’t actually exist and isn’t even useful for protection, since 150,000 kg of bergamot essence are produced per year and two million are marketed in Italy”.
Political interventions
This was followed by speeches by the mayor of Brancaleone Silvestro Garoffolo, the mayor of Staiti Giovanna Pellicanò, the mayor of Caraffa del Bianco Stefano Marrapodi, the councilor for the Locri branch Giuseppe Arone, the regional commissioner of the League Giacomo Saccomanno, numerous farmers and processors .
The last speech by Rosario Previtera
He concluded Rosario Previtera representing the promoting committee of the PGI Bergamotto di Reggio Calabria, which nevertheless appears confident: “On 5 June 2024, World Environment Day, it will be three years from the presentation of the PGI request to the Ministry and the Calabria Region. I believe that at this point it is only a question of time to obtain the PGI given what has now emerged and continues to emerge. We cannot remain stalled for another two years due to frivolous reasons and without any legal basis.”
“Masaf will convene the Region, following the communication of February 28th from the manager of the Calabrian Agriculture Department who after three years remembers that he no longer likes the PGI, now approved, compared to a PDO which has now proven to be virtual. However, this count of the numbers between subjects presenting a similar application will show the real difference: more than 500 members and more than 800 hectares for the PGI compared to around twenty operators of the PDO essence consortium. But more precious time will be wasted unnecessarily. This is why I still trust in governor Occhiuto and in councilor Gallo, president and councilor of all, for an immediate and painless resolution as imagined: the PGI should be approved since it exists and immediately afterwards, when the necessary studies are ready, it will be possible think together about the possible conversion into PDO”.
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