Halloween to forget this year for Italian pumpkins. Production collapsed by a quarter: -25%. And imports from abroad grew by 38%. Reason? Floods in the North and drought in the South. A problem for a sector with a turnover of around 30 million euros.
Monitoring by Coldiretti on the eve of Halloween and the All Saints’ holidays (the key period for pumpkins) reports a 25% drop in national production, which has repercussions both on the market for edible pumpkins and on that of ornamental varieties, increasingly in demand for celebrate the scariest night of the year. Collapse of production combined with a surge in imports (+38%). A mix that for consumers means increased costs. Retail prices fluctuate between 2 and 2.50 euros per kilo, up to triple for the peeled and cut product.
Rain and floods in the North and long drought in the South have reduced production everywhere. The most affected regions were Lombardy, Puglia and Campania, with yields drastically reduced compared to previous years. In Lombardy, where around 25% of national production is concentrated, yields dropped by 30% due to excessive rainfall during the critical phases of sowing and plant maturation. The situation in Puglia is even more critical, where high temperatures and lack of water have reduced production by around 40%. In Campania, in the Caserta area, the prolonged heat damaged the crops, leading to a decrease in yields per hectare of up to 40%. It went well in Veneto and in the Ferrara area, those who had completed the harvest before the floods managed to save a good part of the product.
Alongside the decline in Italian production there was the growth in imports from abroad (+38%). According to Coldiretti, approximately two thirds of imported pumpkins come from Africa, where agricultural practices that do not meet European standards are used, including chemical substances not permitted in Europe. A trend that worries producers and consumers, also because the lack of mandatory origin labeling for cut or processed pumpkins makes it difficult to distinguish the Italian product from the foreign one.
The agricultural sector has been sounding the alarm for some time: climate change is affecting agriculture and making it increasingly difficult to predict and manage the production of seasonal vegetables. Olive groves, vineyards and now pumpkins. And producers find themselves having to deal with huge losses and competition from abroad.
