"The high quality and durability of the melons have allowed us to manage the fruit well in this generally good campaign, although in our country we have been affected by periods of oversupply, coinciding with the drop in consumption in the north of the country, due to the wet weather and the consequent drop in demand.”
Processing at the Lorenzini Naturamica factory
Dolce Passione has found interesting markets abroad. In addition to some markets in Northern Europe, the Middle East is also an important market for Dolce Passione. In fact, it is thanks to the second harvest of late transplants that the Consortium is still able to supply distant markets. Even in areas where high temperatures are the norm, as in the case of Dubai, a high-quality product is available.”
The members of the Dolce Passione Consortium are Alma Seges, Lamboseeds, Lorenzini Naturamica and Ortofrutta Castello. In a few days, the harvest of the Dolce Passione watermelons, grown as a second crop, will end as planned. The late production of these watermelons benefited this year from a favorable summer-autumn seasonal trend. The lack of rain and the summer temperatures made consumers prefer watermelons to other fruits.
From left: Sandro Colombi, Luciano Trentini, Roberto Castello, Carmine Alfano, Cristiano Lorenzini
The consortium is not only taking stock of a season coming to an end but is already planning for the months ahead.
"We are ending this year with very positive results," says Trentini. "The growers Lamboseeds and Ortofrutta Castello, Lorenzini Naturamica and Alma Seges, the current members of the consortium, are already looking to the future with great expectations. The goal for 2024 is to double the area planted in 2023 to a total of 400 hectares, with the possible addition of new members. This will allow us to meet the demand of existing and new customers who have already purchased some trial quantities this year and have told us that they would like to increase their purchases for next year."
Chairman Roberto Castello
"Dolce Passione is the result of Italian research carried out by Lamboseeds. When ripe, the watermelon has a thin black skin and an intensely red, very sweet flesh with a Brix value of over 12. It has very few seeds - and the few that are present are edible - and the fruit is firm and medium-sized, weighing 4-6 kg. One of the goals of the consortium is to make the watermelon available beyond the traditional summer season," continues Trentini.
In the spring, at Macfrut, the consortium had announced investments of about 200 hectares. "The planting went smoothly, from Sicily to northern Italy. This area has allowed us to market 15,000 tons of watermelons," concludes Trentini.
For more information:
Consorzio Dolce Passione
+39 0425 958750
[email protected]