The Italian apple season started normally. At Macfrut, Michael Grasser from VI.P-Val Venosta was interviewed for an assessment on the South Tyrol situation.
"We have finished harvesting the Gala variety. 2013/14 stocks had already finished so we could start with the no campaign with no problems."
Michael Grasser.
South Tyrol Gala apples have a good colour and shelf-life thanks to the perfect weather of the past few months.
"Some people talked about early harvesting and big grades but we must actually bear in mind that last year the campaign started late and fruit was rather small. Everything is actually quite normal."
Golden Delicious harvesting started in mid-September. The organic sector is also doing well - VI.P-Val Venosta produces 25,000 tons of organic apples available the whole year round (7-8% of the total).
In addition to their superior quality, Val Venosta apples will also be provided with a QR Code to access information concerning apple cultivation in South Tyrol.
According to the manager, the volumes recorded so far are lower than what Prognosfruit estimated in August. The effect of the Russian ban is still unknown: "we're not really worried about the volumes we used to sell on the Russian market that we need to redirect but rather about Polish apples, as they could be dumped on the European market. It's still too early to see how things go, we will have to wait until November."