In October 2014, a Ministerial Decree was signed that made trade regulations in articles II, III, IV, V and VI of the 2014/15 Interprofessional Agreement compulsory on the entire national territory (i.e. erga omnes). Not everyone is happy though.
Francesco Sorace (in the photo), director of OP Monte, thinks in fact that "it means imposing our parameters on other countries. Just think that what is imposed by the Agreement is in many cases completely different from what our overseas clients prefer. Why complicate our work with these terms? Why would we want to impose upon are partners, characteristics they do not want?"
"I also believe that the agreement is penalising as regards the date envisaged for the start of sales, because in our area produce is very early, and also for the very low hardness parameter prescribed for exports, which means we won't be able to send produce to countries located over 45 days away even though their markets are very profitable."
"Not being able to sell produce on those markets means having to deal with negative repercussions from an economic point of view, and in times of crisis too."
New markets for Italian kiwis
The most interesting basins for OP Monte are the Asian or Far East countries, which require high quality standards "that only few countries can guarantee."
"Not being able to sell produce on those markets means having to deal with negative repercussions from an economic point of view, and in times of crisis too."
New markets for Italian kiwis
The most interesting basins for OP Monte are the Asian or Far East countries, which require high quality standards "that only few countries can guarantee."
There is a slight reduction in shipping costs "due to the weakening of the Euro against the Dollar."
The most profitable kiwi variety at the moment is Sorelli golden. "After studying the product for 12 months, it is now the second year we have been selling the variety and operators are increasingly interested. Our objective is to make it stronger on the market, helped by the fact that it is the first golden kiwi available for the season."
As the director explained, good management must start on fields to interpret the demand of the various markets and achieve better export results. In the last few years, the produce has been exported mainly to the Arab countries and Asia, whereas once the main countries used to be the Baltic republics, Russia, Ukraine and Latvia.
The main competitor is Greece: "because of the fact it can no longer export to Russia, its produce is now flooding the European market, driving prices down," concludes Sorace.
Contacts:
Francesco Sorace - director
OP Monte Soc. Coop.
c.da Fegotto, 15
89024 Polistena (RC)
Tel.: +39 (0)966 940632
Fax: +39 (0)966 940712
Email: francesco@opmonte.it
Web: www.opmonte.it