Sicily's first AOP brings together 500 producers

The concentration of the supply of fruit and vegetables is one of the strategic actions that the sector must pursue in order to improve its negotiating power within the supply chain. For this reason, the producers' organizations OP Abiomed and OP Opisicula have joined forces to form an AOP (Association of Producers' Organizations), the first in Sicily, with a cultivated area of 3,000 hectares and 500 aggregated producers.

Luciano Caruso.

"The AOP Val di Noto, recognized by the Sicilian Region in the last few days," says Luciano Caruso, president of the new association, "now has a VPC (Value of Commercialized Production) of over 170 million euros in turnover. The need to consolidate in order to have a more important commercial and productive presence in the organized distribution sector has made this important step necessary. In addition, in the seven-year period (2025-2031 ed.) about 115 million euros will be implemented as part of the programming from EU funds, including 3 million euros for R&D (Research and Development) activities."

"We will have direct access to scientific research, which will be essentially in-house, so this is a significant moment of growth, not only in terms of quantity but also in terms of quality," continues Caruso. The association will also give us the opportunity to extend services to member producers with a supervisory role in farm management, such as help with the preparation of campaign notebooks, technical assistance and quality control. Looking to the future, we want to reach a total turnover of 1 billion euros in the next seven years. This will be achieved through fruit and vegetable production that is increasingly adapted to the best standards required by operators in the large retail and international wholesale markets."

"Another achievement of this union is the expansion of the product range," explains the manager. "Suffice it to say that the offers of the two producer organizations, taken separately, could not meet the articulated demands of the commercial partners, neither in terms of variety nor in terms of quality. This is a gap that we have now closed by working together to make up for the previous gaps."

"This is a result that should first of all be a starting point," the expert clarifies, "because a brief analysis of this horticultural season reveals critical problems that, if faced by a small company alone, can only be devastating. Unfortunately, the agricultural year has not gone well, especially for horticultural crops and especially for tomatoes, with production quotations well below producer prices. This is a bitter pill to swallow, stemming from a structural crisis in the sector that has been exacerbated by periods of vertical price collapse. Fruit production in Italy is down by 20%, and tomato production has decreased around 290,000 tons compared to the pre-covid period, while costs have risen by 15-20%."

"All of this is happening while consumption levels have fallen by 8% in the last year," concludes Luciano Caruso. "Of course, aggregation does not completely solve the problems of the supply chain, but it can and should alleviate their difficulties. However, we will initiate actions most closely linked to the promotion of our branded products, trying to improve the consumption of fruits and vegetables. We need to encourage healthier lifestyles, starting with the consumption of healthy and fresh foods, and we also need to take advantage of the sensitivity of commercial operators with appropriate promotions so that consumers can regain the perception of fruit and vegetables that encouraged them to make more informed purchases during the pandemic. Finally, we will not hide our concern about the drought. The situation is dramatic. Without adequate measures, agriculture as a whole is in real danger of decline."