Pineapples and citrus fruits are the two protagonists of Dole Italia's current sourcing activities, Matteo Pirotta, Dole Sourcing Fruit Director discusses.
"As far as pineapples are concerned, volumes are shrinking mainly due to the shortage of medium to large grades (6 or 7). Sales prices are satisfactory, so things are looking good for the coming months and with a view to Christmas. Rather than on new varieties, we have focused on segmenting the offer with organic and traditional products, down to plant-ripened pineapples. The latter are a available in standard and premium upright packages."
Plant-ripened, yellow and tasty
While they could only be bought at local greengrocer's shops in the past, today plant-ripened pineapples are becoming more popular and demand is lively even from big retail chains, which need a product that is available all year round.
Matteo Pirotta says that "the color of these fruits of the MD2 variety is a beautiful golden yellow, and they guarantees a highly satisfying taste experience. Fruits are sweet because they are left to ripen on the plants for longer, then they are carefully selected in the fields and subjected to special treatment, with even more delicate handling (compared to the standard product) at every stage. They arrive in Italy by sea and have a very good shelf-life and a lower price than pineapples shipped by air, so they are appreciated more."
Lemons are less available than oranges
As for the import campaign of citrus fruits, the expert reports that "the market in general was characterized by lower volumes, considering both the drop in South Africa due to the black spot and the one in Argentina due to frost. Despite this situation, Dole Italia managed to guarantee continuity and stability of supplies to all customers."
"When it comes to oranges, most of them come from South Africa but, even in this case, availability was lower both because of the Citrus Black Spot, and because of the need to subject the fruit to Cold Treatment, which is necessary to adapt to the phytosanitary requirements of the European market. To date, sales are in line with last year and typical of the summer period. We will continue the campaign with the late Navel varieties for all customers who wish to continue with blond oranges, while most volumes will be of the Valencia and seedless orange varieties. There is a high demand for medium-small grades which are, however, currently in short supply."
"Egypt had very different prices last year depending on the grades (large or small). Good volumes of Egyptian citrus fruits are expected again this year, although perhaps with slightly lower shipments to Europe due to new commercial outlets chosen by the African country."
A constantly-moving market
"In addition to imports from third countries, we also export produce and this year we have seen a considerable increase for several crops, such as table grapes. At the moment it is difficult to say whether citrus fruits will also show a similar trend."
"As far as bananas are concerned, there is a contraction in volumes from Ecuador due to European phytosanitary requirements and climatic factors. Then there is the fact that the Asian market is opening up to bananas from Ecuador, with the consequence that new strong players will affect the balance between supply and demand. At Dole, we guarantee supplies to all our customers. The fresh produce sector is a living one, where the only winners are those who understand and best adapt to changing conditions thanks to a long-standing expertise, enabling them to extensively know the business, grasp important information and be able to cope with different situations. In short, it is not about being strong but more experienced, flexible and able to maintain excellent quality standards," concludes Matteo Pirotta.