This is what a Romagna operator reported about the first few weeks of commercialisation, characterised by prices well below expectations even though, up until last year, apricots were considered to be among the most profitable products.
Another operator reported that "the fruit supplied complied with all standards and minimum quality conditions." We believe the quality supplied by producers does not match what consumers want and it will be increasingly difficult to fill this gap.
"We must not flood general markets and, at the same time, supermarkets must adopt fair prices when there is a lot of produce available. In years like this, the only solution is to increase the sales and, if prices remain unvaried, consumers will not purchase more. Producers are not covering costs and retailers could do more to support them."