"The current plum season is certainly better than that of 2022, when producer prices were recorded as low as €0.20 per kilo," said Maria Cuppone, a stone fruit grower and fruit and vegetables operator from the southern Italian province of Matera. "The demand has increased tremendously in recent days. We are seeing a high number of requests, after two months of ups and downs, but at least prices have remained higher than last season by at least 35%.”
By the end of the month, Maria Cuppone will start commercializing the Angeleno variety, a sweet, black plum with excellent storage quality. "Expectations are high for this variety. Usually, sales start picking up in September. In recent days, I have been receiving several calls from Italian wholesalers interested in the Angeleno variety. I expect to sell over 400 tons from ten suppliers. I think I will continue to sell Angeleno plums until late fall, unlike last year, when I was forced to shorten the sales calendar due to high utility bills. In 2022, I avoided using cold storage to store the goods, as the campaign was already in a state of disarray."
According to the grower from southern Italy, the season looks promising, despite ups and downs due to high consumer prices, among other factors. "In the first week of September, with the end of the summer vacations, we will resume at full capacity. Angeleno is the last variety I harvest, but also the most interesting one."
For more information:
Maria Cuppone
75020 Scanzano Jonico (MT)
335 5872063 Antonio
gfgfrutta@gmail.com