QUALITY AND PROSPECTIVE OF SICILIAN SAFFRON

Abstract

Italy has one of the most valuable saffron in Europe. We have three Protected Designations of Origin in Sardinia, Aquila and San Gimignano. Italian saffron is present in other areas. In Sicily this spicy is present from the Middle Ages in the central area, in particular near Enna. Nowadays there are almost 5 ha that are cultivated by saffron. This area is characterized by excellent soil, good weather, good viability and agriculture tradition too. The main group is Cooperativa Oro Rosso di Sicilia. It is a young coop that was founded by 12 partners in 2005 with an elevated culture (every one has an undergraduate or a graduate degree), with a small plot of land (between 1000/2500 m 2 ) and lowest mechanization and no specialized workforce; also, Sicilian soil is excellent for cultivating this spice. For this reason it is necessary to search for new markets, as the Middle Eastern market or the Russian market, where our high quality products are strongly requested. The principal risk is that the European product could bleed for the competition of Iranian saffron that are produced with lower costs but that has lower quality than our saffron and that represents 90% of world production. For Sicilian saffron, an important opportunity could be the partnership with typical cheese producers (piacentinu ennese) that are important for Sicilian saffron to obtain the PDO. Another important action is the creation of a partnership between University and farms for developing a commercial strategy and mechanization.