Blood oranges in China in February 2019

The 'E-commerce per l'ortofrutta di qualità' (E-commerce for high-quality fruit) seminar that took place at MAAS Catania on 22nd June 2018 focused on the export of Sicilian blood oranges to the People's Republic of China for the next Chinese New Year in February through Alibaba platforms.

The event was part of the "Social Farming, agricoltura sociale per la filiera agrumicola siciliana 2.0" (Social Farming, social agriculture for the 2.0 Sicilian citrus production chain) project, promoted by Distretto Agrumi di Sicilia and Alta Scuola Arces with the contribution of The Coca-Cola Foundation.

"We gathered the main actors of the citrus chain interested in innovative commercialisation channels. The Regional Council of Agriculture is by our side, we have produce available and companies are interested. Facilities like MAAS could help with the logistics envisaged by the Italy-China protocol. In addition, we have been talking to Alibaba for a year. The Consortia will talk to the Ministry of Agriculture and of Foreign Affairs to obtain the authorisation to transport the produce by air and for cold treatments in the warehouse," explained Federica Argentati, President of Distretto Agrumi di Sicilia.

"I believe our agriculture could reach extraordinary levels if we safeguard and promote our products and increase checks on produce coming from outside. Just think about the cargo that was blocked recently, presumably containing oranges from Palagonia that had arrived in Italy by sea from God knows where. We are also investing to tackle the Tristeza virus: €7.5 million are part of the new Regional development plant," reassured Edy Bandiera, regional councillor for Agriculture.

Figures explaining the size of e-commerce in China.

"Alibaba would like to launch Sicilian blood oranges on the Chinese market in time for the Chinese New Year in February. To start with, we could export a few containers through Mr. Fresh, one of our online platforms with 552 million active consumers, and through Hema supermarkets as part of a premium range," explained Manfredi Minutelli, Senior Business Development Manager for Alibaba Italia.

Interview with Manfredi Minutelli - Alibaba Group

Managing to start exports in correspondence with the Chinese New Year would give this business an added value, if we consider the importance Chinese consumers reserve to fruit intended as precious occasion presents.

"Alibaba is very interested in products that are currently not available in China. Of course we need to work on a captivating logo and packaging, as well as on a communication campaign. First of all, though, we need to tackle the bureaucracy part of the protocol between Italy and China, especially for what concerns air transport."

Above: the various steps that characterised the preliminary phytosanitary protocol to export Sicilian oranges to China.

As regards the strict phytosanitary checks imposed by the Chinese government, the focus is on simplifying treatments. Cold treatments in the warehouse before departure are currently being discussed.

"Chinese technicians witnessed this technique during their last visit and we are waiting for their approval. The Chinese protocol envisages strict checks during the entire productive season to monitor 16 harmful organisms and requires the geolocalisation of crops to ensure their traceability. E-commerce also requires the phitosanitary certificates in accordance with the law and agreements between the states," added Filadelfio Conti, manager at Osservatorio Malattia delle Piante della Regione Siciliana.

Legal requirements for packaging and storage

Luciano Modica from Geotrans talked about logistics: "transport by sea is too long and transports by air need to be approved. We're ready to start with the first cargo as soon as the procedure is complete."

"Distretto Agrumi di Sicilia and Alibaba give us the opportunity to find new markets. Should the cold treatment be approved, we could reach the Chinese market by air. The blood orange niche is a valuable one, and we need to convey this message," stressed Giovanni Selvaggi, President of Consorzio Arancia Rossa di Sicilia IGP.

"MAAS could supply logistics and cold treatment support for oranges leaving for China. We would immediately do what it takes to become a authorised cold treatment centre," added Giuseppe Gagliardi, Chairman of MAAS.