Italian grape producer AgriMessina is preparing for Puglia’s grape season. “We start the Italian season on 15 July with the first shipment of Superior Seedless” says Carlo Berardi, head of UK sales. He is facing the season with confidence. “The weather has been good, and the quality of the grapes is looking good.”
AgriMessina was founded in 1960 by Francesco Messina with the goal of exporting fruit from Apulia all over the world. Grapes were soon emphasised, and in recent years this emphasis shifted to seedless varieties. “Demand for seedless grapes from Italy is booming, but productions are also increasing. There has been more competition in recent years,” Berardi says.
The company has a cultivation area of 300 hectares of grapes in Italy, and is also farming grapes in Greece. A small part of the area is dedicated to the cultivation of organic grapes. The grapes of AgriMessina mainly find their way to retailers in the UK, Germany, Central Europe and Scandinavia.
“We have staked much on new varieties such as SNFL, amongst other things, and that is paying off. We hope to realise a further, healthy growth in the coming years, but we hope to do so step by step, and not too quickly. We are facing the coming season with confidence. We are hoping for a repeat of last year, when we had a good market situation with decent prices.”
For more information:
Carlo Berardi
AgriMessina
S.P. 240 per Conversano Km 13,600
70018 Rutigliano - Italy
Tel: (+39) 080 4761970