Even though the stone fruit situation is not very positive at the moment, plums are actually not doing too badly.
Sorriso di Primavera and Goccia d'Oro are currently being harvested in the Salerno area. The leading retail chain require them to widen the product range and diversify their offer.
Basilicata and other southern areas are producing Dofi Sandra, a dark plum with a yellow flesh with good grades and flavour.
Currently, plum wholesale prices vary between €1.30 and €1.70, but a lot depends on grades, quality and packaging. Good grades sell well in retail and specialised stores, while smaller fruits are required by Italian and foreign discount chains, which generally sell them in netted punnets.
Other varieties to be harvested over the next weeks are Fortune, TC Sun, Friar and Angeleno. After many years of being profitable, prices of the latter dropped last year due to excessive production and non uniform grades. Maybe thinning should be a common practice for this variety as well.