The exports of Italian grapes are almost over, as the shelf-life does not enable companies to ship the produce to the farthest European markets any more.
Claudio D'Alba, CEO at Plantis Group, a company from Puglia that exports fruits and vegetables all over the European continent, explains that "we should end in around 15 days' time, even though Scandinavia and the Baltic countries keep requesting the produce. However it takes 4-5 days for the grapes to reach these destinations and the shelf-life is no longer that of one month ago, especially when it comes to red or black varieties. The weather affected quality as temperatures have been high with a high humidity level during the night."
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"Quantities are not bad, but we cannot trust the shelf-life. We are trying to please all our clients by rationalizing outbound volumes. We want to avoid complaints and supply clients with the utmost quality. However the first grapes from overseas have started to become available, even though there is not a lot of interest for them at the moment, as sales prices are still very high. European buyers will soon have to make a choice: either buy produce from South America, which has a better quality but costs more, or continue with the Italian one, which has a shorter shelf-life but it also has lower prices."
"It has been a difficult campaign for all operators along the chain, not just for producers. In such an international economic context characterized by uncertainty and propensity towards saving, finding the right sales channels and obtaining satisfactory quotations has not been easy. Sales have been slow from the beginning, with prices 10-15% lower than in the past season. What saddens us is the fact that quality was excellent this year when it comes to both the size of the bunches and grapes and the sugar level. However most of the produce was sent to the cellars."
For further information:
Plantis Group
Piazza Ebalia 7
74123 Taranto
(+39) 99 4521842
[email protected]
www.plantis.it