Demand for strawberries remains high, while incoming volumes are once again limited after a short period when prices drop rapidly and momentarily, mainly due to the different climate conditions between the consumption and production areas.
© Fe.Vi. Frutta Srl
"All our customers are receiving strawberries. Supplies have started to the different Italian stands, located in the 20 regions from the North to the South of the country. There are also 8 supermarket chains as well as exports to Germany, which started less than 20 days ago. Between 5,000 and 7,000 packages of strawberries are coming in, but the balance between supply and demand does not yet seem to have been restored. Consumption is very good, but demand will tend to increase further with warmer and sunnier days, We have just come out of a week of commercial confusion, which caused prices to drop by up to 50%: a bout of bad weather in central and northern Italy drove down sales, while the mild weather in the southern production areas favoured harvesting instead, which of course created difficulties on the market," reports Maria Ferrara (photo below), sales manager of Lucana soc. coop. Agricola located in Policoro (Matera).
© Fe.Vi. Frutta Srl
"The cooperative gathers 23 members, for a total of around 100 hectares dedicated to the Sabrosa-Candonga cultivar alone. Then there are the added areas dedicated to the premium Inspire cultivar, as well as other traditional cultivars."
© Fe.Vi. Frutta Srl
The Easter period is much-awaited by strawberry growing and marketing companies because it drives sales, often even into the weeks after, thanks to the other bank holidays that follow, such as 25 April and 1 May. "However, we expect supplies to be lower at Easter compared to a normal campaign, as it will coincide with the second blossoming period. A large percentage of the product will therefore be in the ripening stage."
For more information:
FE.VI.FRUTTA S.R.L.
Via Bellini,10
75025 Policoro (MT) - Italy
+39 0835 902998
info@fevifrutta.it
fevi.trading@aziendemail.it