Entrepreneurs in Sicily are increasingly at the forefront of the European agricultural economy. After the first Sicilian blood oranges arrived in China by sea a few days ago, now it is time for the first shipment by air.
Aurelio Pannitteri
The first load will arrive in Shanghai on April 19th. "Rosaria oranges only travel first class," jokingly reported Aurelio Pannitteri.
"The agreement was made by giant Alibaba, who chose us for a commercial partnership that will produce excellent results."
During the talks with Distretto Agrumi di Sicilia, Alibaba had already manifested its interest for Sicilian blood oranges last year. The Chinese market features a potential of 552 million consumers part of a premium network. The Chinese giant is one of the main technological companies in the world with a turnover of $768 billion in 2018.
The Asian market has enormous potential for Italian products. Of course Sicilian products represent a sort of hyper-niche in such an gigantic market, but the opportunity is precisely that of placing only products that have extraordinary qualities. Other topics dear to Chinese consumers are commercial reliability and food security.
"20 pallets with 2000 crates, i.e. a container, are on their way. Of course it is a small quantity compared to the produce sent to Northern Europe by road, but it still requires a lot of work from a logistical point of view."
Alibaba makes available the technological infrastructure at the basis of a digital marketplace that enables small and medium businesses and large brands to supply products and services on a global level. Its mission is to "make it easy to do business anywhere".