"Once again, we are only focusing on organic products this year. We grow vegetables in greenhouses and open fields," explains Vittorio Gona, president of Sicilian PO Alba Bio.
Vittorio Gona
"Prices have been very low lately due to the competition from Spain and Morocco. In addition, the weather in January means we will probably experience a drop in production soon due to false setting (especially for tomatoes), which in turn will reflect on market prices."
Seasonal products
"Unfortunately Spanish competition has been very fierce lately, as there are more organic crops in the peninsula. The increased product availability meant there were fewer of our products on the European market, but we will try adapt to this new condition and adopt some countermeasures to get back on the European shelves with a higher quality."
"Another problem for our productions is individualism, which means we are not organized enough. Aggregation has led Spain to surpassing us in the 1990s as, by working together, producers managed to overcome planning and exporting problems. In Sicily, we have only just started to imitate them by setting up large POs."
"We are already seeing the first results and we will try to raise the awareness of producers so that we can gather higher quantities. Together with our high quality, this will make us more appealing to large European retailers. We are therefore looking to welcome as many producers as we can to remedy to our poor organization in the past."
"Thanks to aggregation, we have started selling diversified products as, thanks to various types of clients, we manage to place all kinds or products, from fresh produce to fresh-cut and ready-to-eat options. Organization is at the base of everything and that is why our programs are always drafted within the month of April for the following year."
Contacts:
O.P. Coop. Alba Bio
Cda Ferranta, SN
97010 Marina di Ragusa (RG) - Italy
Tel.: +39 932 239003
Fax: +39 932 616014
Email: info@gruppoalbabio.it
Website: www.gruppoalbabio.it