Francesca Digeronimo
"As regards the blood orange campaign, this year grades are rather small due to the heat and drought in summer. Nonetheless, the Moro and Tarocco varieties are still much appreciated."
Moro
The Moro variety is particularly suitable to make fresh juice. The high anthocyanin content makes it particularly prestigious. Thanks to its exceptional organoleptic qualities, the Tarocco variety continues to be very popular by the markets and final consumers.
Navel
"We have just started harvesting late Navel Lanelate oranges and will start harvesting the Valencia variety towards April. Navel LaneLate is an early variety that is very sweet and has an excellent shelf-life: it's perfect to extend the citrus fruit season. In good years, we can even reach the months of July and August and compete with oranges from South Africa."
After last year's campaign, which many defined as disastrous due to the unexpected frost, this year things seem to be going slightly better. Of course the choice of commercialisation channels is pivotal. This means once more that producers cannot just think about cultivating, but need to promote their productions too.
"I believe it's important to promote Sicilian productions by supplying high-quality fruit and services - this is the only thing that can make us stand out on the global market."