A leading company at a national level in the strawberry sector, the Sole cooperative is located in Parete, in the Caserta province, and it produces the Sabrina variety in particular, which is also sold under the Solarelli brand as "Sabrina della Campania".
"Apart from the excessive heat during the end of April, the weather spared our area and the produce is very good, although this year is different than we expected. That is to say that, even at peak moments and also considering the high quality of our strawberries, the market did not grant us satisfactory prices. Things were different for the Solarelli range, to which we destine 200 to 300 MT of Sabrina and for which prices are higher."
The new 1 kg single-layer crate of the Solarelli range.
The Sole Cooperative mainly deals with national retail, to which it supplies around 80% of its production. The remaining 20% is sent to foreign retail and in particular to Germany, Austria, Poland and Switzerland. Strawberries are sold in 1 kg and 500 g single-layers, 250 g, 500 g and 1 kg packets and in 2 kg basket boxes.
"We wish to extend the season as long as possible and that's why we are diversifying our production, planting strawberries at high altitude. This year, even the production of Northern regions and of countries in Northern Europe such as Germany is late and it is therefore very important to fill these gaps on the market."
"It is essential to invest in Made in Italy products and to insist on the characterisation in terms of quality, brands, packaging, etc., as well as a better organisation and coordination along the production chain. We also need to increase research on agronomic techniques and lower residuals. The Sole Coop. is already cultivating more than 150 hectares of strawberries using biological control."
According to Ciardiello, these are the main points on which to focus on in order to be a step ahead of retail and consumers, especially considering the fierce competition coming from Spain.
"The main competition both on the internal and export markets comes from Spain, which this year has further increased area and from Greece. Italian strawberries though do not let down in terms of quality."
Contacts
Cooperativa Sole
Via Prov.le Parete - Tre Ponti
Parete (CE)
Tel.: (+39) 081 5036887
Fax: (+39) 081 5035111
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.coopsole.it
Cooperativa Sole
Via Prov.le Parete - Tre Ponti
Parete (CE)
Tel.: (+39) 081 5036887
Fax: (+39) 081 5035111
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.coopsole.it
