Egyptian artichokes still outperforming in Italy: Italian wholesale fresh food distributor Cambo Frutta said this year is the first it has imported artichokes from Egypt. “The company decided to import Egyptian products, in this case Violetto artichokes, because in early 2017 the artichoke crops in the region of Apulia suffered heavy damage as a result of weather conditions. This led to a lack of stock that Italian companies have replaced by turning to other markets,” according to Fresh Plaza. A company representative says, “the Egyptian Violetto artichoke is very similar to the Italian artichoke, with the advantage of having more volume and a much more intense color … [the only difference from the Italian product] is that they don’t follow our custom of harvesting it with a leaf, as they only come with a stem of around 10cm." There were reports last month that Egyptian purple artichokes were already performing well in Italian markets.