End of season for the Limoré lemon

The last Rocca Imperiale lemons left the packing station on Monday. Although the season lasted 20 days longer than last year, it was nevertheless not devoid of difficulties. The weather was not always conducive in southern Italy and there were also challenges on the sales front.

"At the beginning of the lemon season, we had problems with gauges for supermarkets due to the excessively warm weather in the fall," said Pietro Buongiorno, president of the Consortium of Growers of the Rocca Imperiale Lemon. "This forced us to revise the first orders. In mid-season, there was a sharp drop in demand due to the overlap with the harvest in several southern Italian growing areas. We also witnessed a real invasion of foreign products, especially from Greece and Turkey, which were sold at bargain prices. And in the latter part of the season between mid-April and mid-June, the weather was not on our side. Persistent rainfall meant that the shelf life of the product was not optimal."

From December 2022 through June 2023, more than 1,500 tons of lemons were marketed under the Limoré brand. The acreage covered 50 hectares. "Next season the acreage will increase to 60 hectares and we will have 300 tons more. Today, more than ever, cooperation is the only way forward. The members are very satisfied because they feel supported by the cooperative during the entire growing and trading process," continued the president of the consortium from Calabria.

In these four years since the launch of the brand, Limoré has managed to become a reliable partner for the Italian and European retail sector, being able to guarantee sufficient quantities and continuity of supply.

Limorè is present throughout Italy, as well as in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Great Britain, Austria and the Netherlands. "The goal now is to continue to expand in the United Arab Emirates, where we have been present in the market for three years, and in Australia, in the wake of the recent feedback we received last month, which allows us to look to the future with great optimism. We want to enter other foreign markets in the coming years and make Limoré a globally established and recognized brand."