Area destined for garlic cultivation in Spain rose by 6%, while France and Italy remain stable

In the recent meeting of the Spanish-French-Italian-Portuguese garlic contact group, the sector specialists discussed issues related to the 2021 garlic campaign. This time, the representatives of Portugal did not participate in the meeting.

In France, the sown area will be the same as in 2020, and will total around 2,700 hectares with an estimated production volume of more than 20,000 tons.

The area in Italy will also be the same as in 2020, and will total around 3,400 hectares.

In Spain, the 2021 garlic campaign will begin in one month in Andalusia and in approximately 2 and a half months in Castilla-La Mancha. The cultivated area is 6% superior than in the previous year, totaling 28,000 hectares, according to the The National Association of Garlic Producers and Marketers of Spain, ANPCA.

ANPCA highlighted three demands to the contact group. On the one hand, the importance of putting the value of community garlic and its quality standards, for which the support of other professional organizations in France and Italy has been sought for the creation of a European quality label.

The ANPCA also emphasized the importance of proper labeling of production, especially with regard to the country of origin.

In addition, ANPCA suggested to clarify the data for the European Commission regarding garlic imports from China. These data must appear according to tariff headings, by quantity, by value and by origin, in order to eliminate fraud that harm EU production, such as the importation of frozen garlic from China sold as fresh product.