Innovation and sustainability - how a southern Italian cooperative faces the challenges of the organic market

In April 2014, a group of organic farmers from different backgrounds founded the ABA Mediterranea cooperative, which is in charge of the entire supply chain from production to delivery to customers. Members come from Puglia and Basilicata, and the main production area is Metaponto. The cooperative's main products are table grapes, cherries, stone fruits, citrus fruits, and vegetables. Vegetables include cauliflowers and other brassicas, aromatic herbs, and typically Apulian products such as turnip greens, chard, and chicory.

© Antonia Filomeno - ABA Mediterranea

"Our cooperative gathers 27 members covering around 500 hectares, 250 of which are dedicated to citrus fruits. Right now, we are working with citrus fruits, cabbage, and herbs. The weather conditions that affected fruiting were the main reason for the low production of organic citrus fruits in our area. The high humidity caused more attacks by insects such as flies and aleurodids, leading to a lot of damage due to leaf blight. All this translated into higher costs and reduced quantities compared to the initial estimates," reported Michele Santoro, sales manager of ABA Mediterranea Soc. Coop. Agr.

"Although most of the crops recorded lower yields than estimated, late tangerine varieties including Nadorcott and Tango managed to exceed expectations. Now, harvesting is coming to an end. Feedback is positive on a commercial level: despite a general reduction in citrus fruit production, prices are holding up and are partially helping to cover costs. However, fixed costs remain a significant challenge for the cooperative and its members."

Aba Bio/ABA Mediterranea team at Fruit Logistica 2025. Left to right: Andrea Scelzo (member), Michele Santoro (sales manager), Saverio Prencipe (warehouse manager), Francesca Mingolla (quality manager), Vincenzo Santoro (director and vice president), Antonia Filomeno (member).

"During the spring months, after the citrus season, we focus on the production of vegetables, herbs, and stone fruits such as apricots, peaches, nectarines, and even cherries, despite the difficulties of recent years. We are increasingly specialising in these crops as we are focusing on our expertise in table grapes, citrus, and stone fruits. On a market level, we are mainly present in Germany, Austria and Scandinavia, where we have distribution programmes for grapes and citrus fruits. This year, however, citrus production was limited, preventing us from fully meeting demand. In Italy, we are mainly present in the specialised organic distribution channel. We also collaborate with some supermarket chains, which buy significant volumes of citrus fruit. For the current campaign, we have registered the interest of some unexpected customers and also the return of old partners, with whom we have resumed fruitful cooperation," Santoro explains.

As far as organic farming is concerned, there was a drop in interest after the pandemic, with many producers worried that this method of cultivation would be equated with the traditional one in terms of price, despite the greater effort required. "The general economic situation, affected by significant historical events such as the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, led to an increase in the cost of energy, materials, labor, raw materials, and transport. This generated a sharp increase in prices, causing a contraction in consumption, particularly for higher-cost products such as organic products. All this is of great concern to operators in the sector. Within our cooperative, coordination is crucial to manage the different needs of producers. We respond to these challenges by acquiring for our products - which already hold certifications such as GlobalGAP and GRASP - quality certifications such as Naturland and Demeter, which are highly appreciated by our customers."

"In recent years, we have been shifting towards the big retail chain channel because we have increased the areas cultivated with citrus fruits and table grapes, so we need outlets with greater capacity. This means a greater organisational complexity is necessary to meet the quality and packaging requirements of our customers. In addition, quality certifications are essential to effectively serve such a large and diverse customer base. For product packaging, we use a facility located in Scanzano Jonico (MT) equipped with considerable refrigerated capacity for packaging and storage."

"Agricultural planning has been deeply affected by climate change. Some producers, discouraged by the uncertain situation, prefer to leave the land uncultivated rather than invest in crops that they might not get to harvest. Water shortages, coupled with high summer and autumn temperatures and low rainfall, have made the situation worse. Only those with wells, for example, have been able to mitigate the problem, but our choice has been to reduce the areas used to grow vegetables in order to have a better chance of harvesting the crops as the drought continues. However, some herbs grown in greenhouses maintained a steady production, despite some fluctuations. Cauliflower also ripened early, with harvests concentrated in just a few weeks, causing a subsequent production gap and a decrease in market prices, a phenomenon that affected much of Puglia's production. Among the aromatic herbs, the best-selling are smooth and curly parsley and coriander, which are always in great demand," explains the sales manager.

A final note on the frost that occurred over the past few days. "After checking with our members, we can say that the damage caused was limited, also thanks to the fact that all antifreeze techniques were put in place to protect crops. This is a critical period, as the area is particularly suited to the cultivation of stone fruit, and the orchards are currently in full bloom."

For more information:
Michele Santoro
+39 389 252 9071
sales@abamediterranea.it
aba Bio / ABA Mediterranea Soc. Coop. Agr.
Registered office - via Vittorio Veneto 21, 74013 Ginosa (TA)
Headquarters - via Tagliamento 31, 75020 Scanzano Jonico (MT)
info@abamediterranea.it
www.abamediterranea.it