While the last stocks of the old garlic harvests have been dwindling for a few weeks, Paris Ail, a producer and importer present at Rungis, has just welcomed its new crop.
Alexandre Flin and Geoffrey Aumont
"At the moment, the garlic present on the French market comes from Egypt, Spain, France, and China," explains Patrick Flin, manager of Paris Ail. "Compared with the previous harvest, prices have fallen sharply. French production is running at a very slight deficit in terms of volume this year, because there has been less planting. As for quality, we have been very satisfied so far. On the other hand, Spanish production volumes are lower than last year due to weather conditions that may have impacted the crops."
Chinese garlic is particularly present on the European market this year because exports to the United States - usually a major import market for Chinese garlic - have been disrupted by the current geopolitical situation. However, Paris Ail has not offered the Chinese origin for approximately 10 years. "With the various controversies surrounding the origin, our clients have decided not to buy it anymore. Of course, we import from other origins so that we can offer garlic to our clients throughout the year, but we also try to promote our own production, such as fresh purple garlic and purple garlic from Cadours, which are currently available. As far as we are concerned, we completed the various stages of production at the right time and we have not suffered any adverse weather conditions, which enabled us to harvest slightly larger volumes than last year."
For more information:
Patrick Flin
Paris Ail
26 Avenue de Lorraine
CP 70112
94512 Rungis Cedex, France
Phone: +33 156 702 702
[email protected]