"Italy: "Demand for premium quality produce good regardless of price"

Those who managed to grow high-quality produce are very pleased while, those who didn't, are not. This is what happened with PGI cherries from Vignola. The consortium gathers 450 producers with an average production.

Valter Monari, President of the consortium, explained that "demand for premium quality produce was good regardless of the price. Average-quality produce didn't do as well, as volumes were abundant. Things were difficult at the start, but they have picked up."

Monari also commented the distribution of cherry cups along the Riviera Romagnola. "They are very popular, but it's only a means to promote the produce, we don't sell huge volumes using this method. Thanks to it, foreign markets such as Berlin also started to ask for our fruit."

Poster promoting cherries in cups.

Demand was also good in Switzerland and the Arab Emirates, where prices are good and so they are worth reaching. The produce is shipped by air to the Middle East, where it's not so much a question of prices but rather of quality.

"We cannot expect to be able to live with the usual markets. In China, for example, there are 200 million people with great purchasing power, but Chilean cherries (photo below) are the most popular. We cannot even export to China, as we still don't have an agreement."

Chilean cherries in Beijing (January 2017, photo by FreshPlaza)

Contacts:
Consorzio Ciliegia di Vignola Igp
Via dell'Agricoltura 1,
41058 Vignola (Modena)
Tel.: 059/766738
Email: consorziodellaciliegia@tin.it
Web: www.consorziociliegiadivignolaigp.it