The cherry season is coming to an end in Puglia. "While the last pallets left our facility on June 10th last year, this time we believe we will end the season by the end of next week due to the lack of supply generated by the mild weather in winter, which has meant plants did not reach enough chill hours, leading to a 60% drop in yields especially for the Ferrovia cultivar," explains Vito Giuliano (in the photo), sales manager at Orchidea Frutta, a company boasting 40 years of experience in the sector.
"We have not exceeded 60 tons/ day of commercialized produce while, last year, we managed to ship up to 150 tons/day during the peak of the season."
 |  |
The campaign was around 10 days early in Puglia. "We started harvesting in the covered orchards on April 6th, then moved on to the open fields already on April 17th. Purchases from producers showed high quotations throughout the campaign precisely because of the lower quantities, with an average of €4-5/kg. Procurement problems appeared right from the start. We had to stagger the unloading frequency and reconsider the quantities originally requested, limiting our exports and focusing on the domestic market instead. What is about to end can be labelled as the season with the lowest supply of the past 30 years."
Nonetheless, quality was good with excellent grades and a good flavor. "The high quality of the productions has been making up for the lower yields. The lack of adverse weather events during harvesting enabled us to harvest and sell premium-level produce. The feedback from operators has been great."
For more information:
Orchidea Frutta
Via Zara 41
70018 Rutigliano (BA) - Italy
+39 080 4761003
[email protected]
orchideafrutta.it