Italian actinidia growers are located in the Veneto, Lombardy, Emilia Romagna, Lazio and Calabria regions, but there is also a large group of kiwi growers in Greece, namely the Ceradini Group, a historical company based in the city of Verona (Kingfruit srl) and recognized for the quality of its product.
Christos Doulgeris and Massimo Ceradini
"The harvesting of the green kiwi has just begun, both in northern Italy and in Greece, based on objective parameters such as dry matter and firmness. In Greece, our company Fruit Project, of which my business partner Christos Doulgeris is the director, has achieved in only three seasons volumes that rank it at the top among companies that export kiwis, and we were the first Italian group to establish with a warehouse, which is now being joined by a second one soon to be completed."
The Fruit Project team
Globalization has unfortunately meant that Italy, with its direct and indirect costs, has lost competitiveness to the Hellenic peninsula. "In order to maintain and consolidate relations with customers, who are now increasingly oriented toward Greek products, it was decided that the best solution was to move directly to Greece, guaranteeing a high-quality supply commercially supported by our brands."
Our know-how, which is the group's forte, has been passed on to the Greek team. "We have introduced a new way of working in Greece, with greater precision and attention to quality. Our team of agronomists is composed of young, capable and vigorous young people who, in addition to having university degrees, come from families that grow kiwis. This allows us to follow all stages of about 160 producers located in the two major production areas, so that the quality of the kiwi is in line with each customer's expectations. We can now say that we have established a group of actinidiculturists who work in partnership with us and feel supported by us. The stability of the supply chain set up in this way allows us to constantly improve all processes, guaranteeing producers adequate remuneration," pointed out Ceradini.
"The word 'partnership' has become a dogma for us. We no longer want to talk about suppliers, producers, and customers but about partners, because this is the only way we can grow together."
This is what the second plant in Greece, now nearing completion, will look like
Ceradini has a pick-up, storage and processing facility in Katerini (a 45-minute drive from Thessaloniki to Athens) of 13,000 sq. m. covered area, in which it packages more than 10,000 tons, and a second facility, now being completed in Chrisochory, in the province of Kavala, a 90-minute drive from Thessaloniki towards Turkey, which consists of a 7,000 sq. m. covered warehouse.
"It will be a difficult year, given the significant increase in production compared to previous seasons. It is exactly the type of relationships established with our own customers/partners that will allow us to deal with it in the best possible way. In a market that is becoming more and more difficult to serve, we continuously invest to face challenges and win them by satisfying our customers who, in addition to the demand for quality, need reliable suppliers who can also guarantee them excellent service. Ceradini Group is also a Jingold partner and has in its customer portfolio, in addition to the most important European distribution chains and the most renowned importers located on 6 continents, the New Zealand-based Zespri," continued Ceradini.
At the fair
During the summer months, the Ceradini Group supplies its customers with overseas kiwis, covering their needs 365 days a year. Gold kiwis and a small number of red kiwis complete the group's shelf basket.
For more information: 
Ceradini Group
www.ceradinigroup.com
For Italy: kingfruit@ceradinigroup.com
For Greece: fruitproject@ceradinigroup.com