"We have almost reached the end of the season with the early varieties, after it started one week late on September 10th. We registered a 40% drop in production, but the high temperatures favored fruit quality. Now Wonderful is being harvested. In this case too, yields are 30% lower, but grades are larger, we are talking about 400-500 grams per fruit," reports Natalino Gallo, president of the Agricor PO from Corigliano-Rossano (CS), owner of the Gallo brand.
Natalino Gallo, president of Op Agricor
According to Gallo, the general drop in production is due to the rainy period that lasted until June 15th, which affected setting.
Op Agricor boasts 100 hectares of pomegranate orchards which, last season, produced between 2,000 and 2,200 tons of fruit.
The citrus fruit campaign starts with the Caffin variety
Over the past 20 years, Agricor started the citrus fruit season always around October 10th-11th. "This year we started with Caffin clementines around October 14th-15th, almost one week late in order to reach the color and Brix levels suitable for commercialization. Initial quantities are rather limited. Traditional clementines will become available even later, as the campaign should start well into November."
"The temperature range has not been wide enough, so the fruits were not developing the right color. The weather remained hot-humid for long, with temperatures nearing 30°C and favoring the onset of diseases. This, in addition to the need for additional irrigation, has made the already-high production costs soar."
"Lower yields and higher production costs: it is an equation that does not work. I see companies from the Sibari plain not managed as they used to precisely due to the higher costs. On a commercial level, the law of the market envisages that prices should increase when volumes are limited. However there are indeed worries due to two phenomena in particular: the hot temperatures, which have meant consumers did not fancy purchasing citrus fruit, and inflation."
Also addressing the anti-inflation pact that excludes fresh produce, the president of Op Agricor commented that "the real problem is how the produce is offered. I am referring to southern Italy, where the segment is still very fragmented and productions will always be attacked when it comes to prices."
"We have the moral obligation to safeguard the income of our members, otherwise our citrus fruit will disappear, then we will have to source it from Spain at much higher prices."
Photos supplied by Natalino Gallo
For further information: www.gallofrutta.net/it