The Sicilian producers at the fair were all looking for retail customers in the UK.

Potatoes were on show from the Traditional Siracusa Potato Consortium, represented by Fabio Moschella. He explained the potatoes would be popular with UK consumers who are known for their love of potato based products. "We can give a lot to the UK market with our good tasting potatoes," he said. "We think we can give something new and different."

The potatoes are grown in red soils and picked manually. The only treatment they receive is being washed in water. They are harvested in time for the Easter market.

Moschella also represents Femminello lemons. "There are more than 5,000 acres of lemons grown in Siracusa where weather conditions are ideal for growing," he said. "The strong, sweet smell of the lemons makes them attractive to consumers, and the lemons are not cleaned prior to retailing because this takes some of the scent away."

However, over the past 20 years the lemons have faced competition from Spanish product which Moschella said "looks nice but is acidic inside, not like the Siracusa ones".

Lemons are also produced by Caruso Giuseppe, president of the Agricoop-Bio co-operation. Agricoop grows organic lemons, which are sweeter and are ideal for cooking with. He added: "The organic lemon has a natural taste, and is not too bitter to eat raw."

Also at the show was Apaor, which produces a variety of oranges. Its red Tarocco oranges are available from December.

Apaor's Franco Tumale explained: "The red orange is much sweeter. It is more of an eating orange than a juicing one, and there is no need to add any sugar as they are sweet enough already. They should be eaten soon after picking though to get the best flavour." l

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