"Although it was initially expected that the marketing campaign would last a little longer, we have reached the final stages of the Sicilian citrus campaign ahead of schedule. Unfortunately, we are paying the consequences of two years of drought, followed by the now prolonged winter rains," says Vincenzo Arcoria, who, together with his brother Giosuè, has been at the helm of Agricola Arcoria, a citrus company located in the heart of the Catania plain, since 2004.
Pictured above: Vincenzo Arcoria
"The plants, which were already under stress, now seem to have gone beyond the normal stages of growth and development. At the moment they seem to be out of phase, having started to vegetate, with the result that even the later varieties do not have the proper support, causing them to fall prematurely under the canopy."
Founded in 1950 by his grandfather, Vincenzo Arcoria, and subsequently managed by his son, Antonino, the company is now in its third generation. On its 120 hectares of land, Agricola Arcoria grows a wide range of citrus fruits under an organic regime, marketed under the Agrumepuro brand. Eighty percent of the plantations have been renewed by introducing new varieties, both early and late. The rich production covers a wide commercial calendar, starting in October with Miyagawa and Clemenrubi, continuing with Newhall and Fukumoto, and continuing in December with Tarocco nucellare, Moro, Ippolito until April, and finally ending with Navel Powell and Valencia oranges at the end of May. New products include Pink Grapefruit and Tarocco Lempso.
"We also market a line of homemade jams, marmalades, and jellies in 330-gram jars under the Agrumepuro brand, using all the citrus varieties we produce. This is a growing market, although it is very difficult to dominate given the saturation of the sector. We maintain our position by combining the efforts of producers, wholesalers, and retailers, with a sales point in Veneto, in Caselle di Altivole, in the province of Treviso, Italy. Here we carry out retail and wholesale sales without intermediaries, directly from the producer to the consumer."
Rot and withering have characterized the current citrus campaign, with a higher percentage of spoiled products than in previous years. While the rainy trend has benefited agriculture, it has also created relative humidity levels ideal for the proliferation of fungal pathogens, which have accelerated the deterioration and rotting of fruit.
"From an economic standpoint, in a climate of a general decline in consumption, both at a national and international level, which makes the situation even more complicated, we are holding up well thanks to the increase in consumption of organic products. The fruits are small in size, but excellent to eat. Laboratory tests have shown that small to medium-sized oranges actually contain equal or even higher amounts of vitamin C and anthocyanins."
Unfortunately, the 2024/25 marketing year as a whole saw the widespread appearance of the phenomenon of rotting, which affected several shipments. The consequences were particularly felt by distributors, who had to deal with an increase in complaints from large retailers due to the high percentage of products with poor shelf life that appeared a few days after being shipped.
"We can define ourselves as being in love with nature," concludes Vincenzo Arcoria, "so we like to say that we run a 100% green company, equipped with photovoltaic systems. The land is irrigated with the most advanced automated irrigation systems and organic weed control equipment, as well as environmentally friendly fertilization systems using manure and green manure. Fertigation is controlled by a complex system of software and hardware that can calculate and deliver exactly the nutrients that the soil and plants need. One of the areas of growth is online sales, not only as retail sales to families or groups of families - who together place large orders for assorted citrus fruits - but also to chain stores that buy selected citrus fruits in bulk through our online channel in Italy and abroad, including France and Germany."
For more information:
Azienda Agricola Arcoria
Contrada Sferro
95047 Paternò (CT) - Italy
+39 393 8433714
+39 349 2921503
info@agrumepuro.com
www.agrumepuro.com