The weather has been very discontinuous all over Europe over the past few weeks, compromising both harvesting operations and consumption. Raffaele Lasciarrea, sales manager at ILFRES and ILFRES Espana, talked about the situation in Italy and Europe.
Raffaele Lasciarrea - Juici ® - L'accento sul gusto citrus fruit brand.
"Unpredictability and caution seem to have characterized the markets so far due to the considerable price fluctuations and the legitimate expectations of producers. Our leading products, which are commercialized under well-known citrus fruit, iceberg lettuce and table grapes brands, mean we can identify differences with respect to previous years when it comes to both the market trend and production."
Juici citrus fruit.
"The JUICÍ Spanish campaign is about to come to an end in early July, then it will be the turn of Valencia oranges from Greece, packaged in telescopic boxes. They are much appreciated by our clientele, especially due to their low acidity level, which makes them perfect for a classic summer squeezed orange juice."
Another main product is the ILFRES iceberg lettuce, which is currently still being imported from Spain and the Netherlands due to the strange weather. "The extreme weather variability in Northern Europe initially determined a considerable drop in supply, followed by a surplus. Now production has lowered again due to a slower growth of the produce, precisely when demand is starting to liven up. This is also why we are continuing the collaboration with the Spanish producers, who will work with the produce from the hilly areas in Albacete and Granada throughout the summer. The weather has caused difficulties and damage in Spain too, especially in Murcia where many of our suppliers are located."
Quality control at ILFRES.
Grapes from Puglia now also forms part of the company's catalogue under the dedicated R Line brand. "We will soon start to export the Victoria and Black Magic variety to central and Northern Europe, Eastern Europe and Spain, which we have already been supplying since early May with the Sicilian produce thanks to the early ripening caused by the mild temperatures."
"The watermelon campaign is instead still hard to decipher, as consumption is still low. The start of the mini-watermelon campaign is slow this year too, with unsatisfactory prices that are the most European buyers are willing to pay to local growers. We are hoping things will improve as summer consumption picks up."
For more information:
ILFRES Srl
Via Copenaghen 7
76011 - Bisceglie (BT) - Italy
+39 080 3925085
[email protected]
lfres.com
ILFRES cultivar San Javier SL.
Avenida Pinatar 4
San Javier 30730 (Murcia)
+34 603 55 66 78
[email protected]