The first detachments of stonefruit in Piedmont were expected last week (4th July 2014), but bad weather changed things.
Giuseppe Termanini, director of Lagnasco Group, said that "we could say things are not going well, as we would need hot weather, for consumers especially. The sales of peaches, melons and watermelons are penalised when temperatures drop, so bad weather will affect the market."
"The market does not depend only on spending capacity, but also on the capability of working together. Retailers are the only interprofessionals that are getting organised to deal with the economic crisis and limit its impact on company balances. We are missing a great opportunity, we need a single strategy for the whole sector."
"The weather is also affecting us. Summer fruit is sold at shocking prices. Spring was rather hot, so we hoped for a good summer. We tried to preserve the quality of fruit but heavy rain and hailstorms did not help our good agricultural practices. It will probably be a good year only for the processing industry. Weather permitting, we should start harvesting Big Top nectarines between 9th and 10th July."
"I'm sad to hear that some producers are worried that they won't be able to sell all their fruit. But we need to talk to each other more and confront our situations, so we can have a second chance when the situation is bad."
For further info:
Giuseppe Termanini - Director
Lagnasco Group Soc. Coop. arl
Via Santa Maria, 2
12030 Lagnasco (CN)
Tel.: (+39) 0175 282119
Fax: (+39) 0175 282181
Email: direzione@lagnascogroup.it
Web: www.lagnascogroup.it