Compared with last year, when the season started early, this year a three week delay has been registered in the production of Italian strawberries.
Teodoro Talento, an agronomist at Parete's (Campania) Cooperativa Sole, a leading company for strawberry production in Italy, explains: "December 2012 and January 2013 were very cloudy so there was a delay in production. We are now recovering and, if the weather continues to be good, we should be able to catch up by the end of the month."
Approximately 80% of the volume available at the moment is made up of the Sabrina variety from the Planitalia nursery garden. Other varieties available, though in much limited numbers, are Fortuna, Antilla and Benicia. The organoleptic qualities of the produce are really good. "Generally, temperature changes between day and night enhance the compactness of fruit. We are now talking about 7° Brix, with a very compact pulp."
Coop Sole mainly supplies Italian mass retailers, to which 70% of the produce is sold. 20% of it is shipped abroad (Austrian, Swiss and German mass retailing) and the rest is sold in wholesale trading centres. Strawberries are placed either in 1 kg or 500 g single layers, in 250 g, 500 g and 1 kg packets or in 2 kg basket boxes.
"Our main competitor at a national level as well as abroad is Spain. The country has extended cultivated surfaces and climate conditions enable their products to arrive on the market first. Consumers though seem to prefer Italian strawberries, thanks to the quality of our product. Those working with wholesalers might be importing Spanish or Egyptian strawberries, but we only sell the produce we collect from our members."
"We have geographically diversified our production, planting strawberries in the mountains as well, so that they're available the whole year round. Most of the production though still ends in June, as Northern countries such as Germany start producing." Already in 2012, the Cooperativa Sole was able to sell its produce on the market 365 days a year, just as anticipated. This year, it expects to harvest 70,000 quintals of strawberries.
Making a general assessment, Ciardiello observes that "we have been growing in the past few years, both land-wise and therefore in volumes, as well as quality-wise. We have in fact been orientating towards those varieties with above all great flavour and high quality, and that then present other criteria such as productivity and storability."
"The choice we made 10 years ago of working with fresh plants was bold, but it proved rewarding in the medium term, thanks to the refinement of our cultivation techniques."
"Nursery gardeners have told us that this year production in Morocco and Spain has increased. We'll see about next year. If prices are stable, so will be quantities and cultivated land. If there's a decrease, those not making a profit will choose other crops, as strawberries are very expensive to cultivate."
Strawberries are mainly distributed by road transport. In Italy, they are available to the final user in 24 hours, whereas we are talking about 48 hours for foreign countries. The whole production chain is controlled and the cold chain is respected to preserve the quality of the product.
Contacts:
Cooperativa Sole
Via Prov.le Parete - Tre Ponti
loc. Vallenido
81030 Parete (CE)
Tel.: (+39) 081 5036887
Fax: (+39) 081 5035111
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.coopsole.it
Mr. Teodoro Talento
Technical Department Strawberry Division
Tel/fax: (+39) 081 5035881
Cell.: (+39) 340 4717055
Email: [email protected]
