"The current citrus fruit campaign continues to pay the price of climate change. After the delicate production phase in the fields, the produce is also paying a high price in the harvesting/marketing phase, as the fruits do not have the right 'shelf-life' due to the external factors that affected the fruits while they were still small. The fruits were 'damaged' by a succession of exogenous agents (lava ash, prolonged drought, copious rainfall, high humidity) during the delicate production phase. The result is that complaints from the big retail chains - mainly due to citrus fruit rotting - are the order of the day," reports Salvatore Imbesi, manager of Agrumi-Gel, a well-known Sicilian brand that specialises in the processing of citrus fruits, pomegranates, prickly pears and summer fruits.
Lorena Smerlo, Salvatore Imbesi and Azzurra Gugliotta
"Mount Etna made itself heard again in August after a persistent drought that still continues to this day, especially on the slopes of the volcano. The ash particles that have fallen on the fruit have created wounds that compromised citrus fruits whatever their development stage. The very fine ash on the fruit gets scorched by the sun, while the wind causes fruits to rub against each other, resulting in grazing of the peel. These wounds damage the layer of essential oils that protects the fruit, which then rots once removed from the trees."
"The rain of the last period made things worse, as the high humidity levels increased fruit rot. Therefore, it is not only the fresh segment, but also the processing campaign of blond oranges that is encountering problems, as the damaged fruits are not even suitable for industrial processing. As mentioned earlier, the citrus fruits that have just been harvested from the trees are decaying and rotting rapidly."
On a commercial level, there is a shortage of blond oranges on the international market due to the drastic reduction in volumes in the major producer countries overseas. As far as Italian lemon juice is concerned, the downward prices, which also characterised the previous campaign, persist. This is a consequence of the low quotations of the Argentinian juice."
For more information: 
Agrumi-Gel S.r.l.
C.da Girotta
98051 - Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto (ME)
(+39) +39 090 9707330
(+39) +39 329 354 0163
[email protected]
www.agrumigel.it