«In Calabria there are 1624 companies that cultivate 3,157 hectares for a production of 1.3 million quintals. In our region, we defend ourselves well because we can count on extraordinary excellence such as the “Patata della Sila PGI” which is highly requested by the market and connoisseurs”. This is what was reported Coldirettidenouncing – through an analysis of Istat data – how Italian potatoes are “under attack” “from the effects of climate change and the invasion of foreign products, with imports growing by 18% in 2024 and those from Egypt which even tripled in the first two months compared to the same period of the previous year.”
«To these – added the Association – another 288 million kilos frozen and 74 million kilos cooked and frozen must be added, as well as 10 million kilos of ready-made chips such as those in bags. Product that often ends up being sold as Italian thanks to the principle of the last transformation permitted by the customs code on the origin of foods. But scams have also been discovered with French potatoes sold as national.”
Calabria, however, defends itself well: «our potatoes – continued Coldiretti – boast the denomination “mountain product” due to the peculiar characteristics of the territory: the use of spring water for the irrigation of the fields, the strong temperature variations between night and day which reduce the load of pathogens and parasites, such as aphids, and therefore the use of plant protection products, the low winter temperatures which allow the tubers to be preserved without chemical anti-sprouting treatments”.
«The companies – added the Association – are innovating product recognition processes such as the “Qr code” which allows the buyer to read the history of the product on a smartphone, view the map of the plot and download the ‘analysis that certifies the absence of chemical residues.”
«Certainly – concluded Coldiretti – we must not lower our guard on controls because this production, of great quality and delicacy, ensures income for companies and the entire connected production system».
