36th Heliciculture International Meeting
Our organization will
be at your disposal should you need information about how to reach Cherasco,
hotels booking in our area and details about meetings.
0039 0172 489382/Fax 0039 0172
489218; infoelicicoltura@lumache-elici.com
From 22nd to 24th September the 2007 Snail Breeding Meeting will be held as usual in Cherasco; this will be the 36th edition. During the meeting it will be organized the 2nd FESTIVAL of the SNAIL in cuisine; the festival will be characterized by cookery and gastronomic celebrations dedicated to Helix. The Snail Breeding Meeting is the most important snail breeding event during the year: snail farmers will have the great opportunity to meet other colleagues, technicians, traders and agents from all over the world.
Foreign visitors who wish to participate to this event are welcomed to book the hotel in advance; the snail breeding Institute offices stay at your complete disposal for helping you with the accommodation and with all the information you may require.
ALBANIA - KOSOVO
On 23rd February 2007 in Tirana – Albania, Giovanni Avagnina, the President of the Snail Breeding Institute met NDUE PREKA, Ministry for Agricultural Policies. The greatest person in charge for Agricultural Policies in Albania proved to be strongly interested in the agriculture and in the contributions that this activity could lend to the development of the Albanian agriculture which only during these last years, after the revolution and with the homecoming of many immigrates, is starting to rebuild its productive and commercial tissue. The mild climate, the podologic conditions and the great water disposal of the country together with the huge land availability which has not been farmed yet are excellent preconditions for Helix Aspersa snail breeding to be developed in this country. A ministerial and managerial delegation will come to visit Cherasco in the forthcoming months. Also in Kosovo there is a growing number of new Helix Aspersa snail breedings. The first and very well organized breeder of this country is Flamur Bicurri – Rr. Ismail Qemali 428 – Gjakove (Kosove). Phone: 0390 20 676 Mobile phone: 044149380 Email: flamurbicurri@hotmail.com
Snail consumption is growing in Italy
During 2006 two very important events happened in the snail breeding sector; the first is a substantial growth in the consumption in Italy and the second is a run-up in wholesale prices for Helix Aspersa Muller. These are two elements which caused a further growth of the global turnover in the entire Italian die plate: the 8% more than last year (with more than 120.000 Euro). The consumption reached the 380.000 quintals: 15 % more than in 2000. Helix Aspersa reached the quotation of 47%, Helix Pomatia 24%, Eobania Vermiculata 15% and 14% the other species. The quantity includes all the products, fresh and tinned. Beside the consumption growth it has been witnessed a growing interest in breeding production which, through the newest and modern techniques, could shape for itself a market place characterized by a much more expensive product but with a very high quality. The differences between the natural and the breeding system are basically four and are the following: the tenderness of the meat, as the mollusk’s growth is quicker; the food quality added to flavor the mollusk is very high; homogeneous size; the breeding gives the possibility to the consumer to find the product during the whole year.
According the given data and taking into account that they are referred to the fresh product, which after the cleaning and boiling stages and after the shell has been removed averagely represent the 30% of the total weight, it can be confirmed that at the present the Helix consumption per capita is 150 gr/year in Italy. The data is not homogeneous: there are some regions in which the same fact is five or six time higher than in other zones. At the top of the consumption list we can find Sicily and Sardinia with 17% of the total product distributed in Italy; Liguria and Puglia follow with a percentage of 14%. Piedmont is fifth followed by Lazio and Tuscany. Lombardy, which is the region with the highest number in population is tenth in the list.
Poland
After a long training period Helix Consulting landed in Poland, a country which was previously ruled by the French breeding system. On 24th February in Stare Pole, a city settled in the noth of the country, Fabio De Palma and Magdalena Dziekan, the person in charge for Helix Consulting in Poland accompained by Grzegorz Skalmowski, met about a hundred farmers interested in the open air Italian system for snail breeding. As the country showed great interest upon this subject Helix Consulting is going to open an office in Poznam; the branch will come into force in the next few months. The development programm for this country will include the production of the multimedia CD in Polish. Moreover Helix Consulting is going to organize training courses which are necessary for the right diffusion of the snail breeding technique and decisive for achieveing the primary goals of the activity.
International quotations
During the first months of 2007 the snail market – Helix type, has been lively and important. Usually during winter it is witnessed a tailing-off of interest in Helix Pomatia with operculum, which in certain cases remains unsold with consequent price shrinkage registered at the beginning of the market season. On the contrary Helix Aspersa Muller started the year with high and interesting quotations, even at the very beginning of January. According the quality of the product the gross price has been set at 4,70 – 5,80 Euro/Kg.
Also the spring wholesale prices for Eobania Vermiculata, 3,50 – 4,00 Euro, were quite high.