Rising temperatures and climate change are putting the fruit and vegetable sector under pressure. Legacoop: structural measures are needed

The Italian fruit and vegetable market continues to grapple with a summer marked by a succession of extreme weather events, ranging from heatwaves to hailstorms. Just a few days after a survey that had already ‘pointed to a highly varied price trend, with rises limited to a few sectors experiencing product shortages and widespread price falls linked to an abundance of seasonal supply”, Legacoop reports that ‘new reports are coming in from the regions, which further exacerbate the situation’.

The weather has effects on prices that are difficult to estimate, with prices showing widely varying trends. These range from apricots, which have seen a slight rise in prices, to a fall in the prices of watermelons and melons. Among vegetables, green beans are the only product to have seen a rise, in contrast to cauliflowers, tomatoes and courgettes.

“What we are seeing in recent weeks is no longer just a question of the intensity of a single hailstorm or a single heatwave. It is the overall intensity of these phenomena that is now putting even those organisations that have invested in active protection over the years under strain,” says Cristian Maretti, president of Legacoop Agroalimentare. “The systems that until recently provided adequate protection can no longer withstand the force of hailstorms or the strength of the winds generated by downbursts, which are occurring with increasing frequency,” he adds.

According to Legacoop, surveys carried out across Calabria “paint an alarming picture for the entire citrus sector”. The high temperatures “have literally damaged the fruit still on the trees, with losses estimated at between 30 and 40 per cent compared with last year’s production, which was already at low levels. This damage comes on top of an already difficult growing season, exacerbating a structural crisis for businesses in the sector”.

A critical situation caused by opposite factors is unfolding on the other side of Italia: ‘A violent hailstorm,’ Legacoop reports, ‘has razed hectares of orchards to the ground, and in some areas the maize, soya, sunflower and melon crops have been completely destroyed. Insurance assessors are at work on the affected farms, and site inspections will continue throughout August. PThe situation is particularly serious for fruit protected by anti-hail nets, which are not covered by insurance: in many cases, the exceptional weight of the hailstones has torn the nets themselves, leaving the fruit exposed and, in many instances, bruised.”