“We were very pleased with how Fruit Logistica went, as affluence was finally similar to the pre-Covid era," reports Salvatore Magliocco, vice-president of the PASAM Agrumi cooperative, which has been dealing with the production and commercialization of femminello lemons from Syracuse for over 30 years.
Silvia and Salvatore Magliocco
"Over three days, we managed to strengthen the relationships with our historic clients and acquire new ones. We currently have relations with the foreign big retail chain in Germany, Austria, France and Switzerland, but we also have agreements with importers and wholesalers in Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands. Of course it would not be possible to please these clients if we didn't have an organization to support us: PASAM Agrumi currently boasts 380 hectares, 70% of which grown using organic techniques, while integrated control techniques are used for the rest."
“We have noticed an increasing attention towards the ‘Organic Route‘ not only because of nutritional content, but especially when it comes to respect for the environment. We have been producing organic lemons since 2000 and we recently converted part of our productions to biodynamic techniques. We care a lot about safeguarding the environment, so much so that we have invested on a large photovoltaic plant to keep energy costs down and reduce our carbon footprint."
"The bad weather that hit Sicily on February 8th and 9th with heavy rainfall and wind up to 120 km/h caused a lot of damage. This led the loss of most of open-field vegetables as well as fruits and citrus fruit. Abundant water causes in fact dark rot problems, while the wind causes wounds in the plants where malsecco could infiltrate, the most dangerous disease for lemon trees. Usually, in these cases, anti-fungal products are used to disinfect the wounds and prevent the fungus from penetrating the lymphatic system and contaminate plants leading to their death, although this intervention is not always successful."
"We are now waiting for answers from Regione Sicilia to understand whether any help will be envisaged for businesses. Over 300 mm of rain fell in just a few hours. It is not the first time Italian agriculture has had to deal with such events and it should be better safeguarded, as it brings it specialities to half of Europe. Now, between the higher fuel prices, skyrocketing energy and fertilizer prices and weather events, it is certainly not easy to manage an agricultural business."
For further information: 
P.A.S.A.M. Agrumi
Soc. Coop. Agricola a r.l.
Produttori Agricoli
Siracusani Associati Magliocco
+39 0931722333
[email protected]
www.pasamagrumi.it