"Dutch importers hold Italian organic fruit in high consideration. They perform strict checks and only look for the best productions," explains Elisa Benetti from Fairtrasa Holland BV.
"Holding the GlobalGAP certification is the bare minimum to be able to sell abroad. I purchase apples, pears and kiwifruits in particular. The season starts in July with the first apples from Verona and continues with the various areas in Italy. I must say Piedmont is very well organized with medium-long term strategies and plans."
Elisa Benetti
Checks are strict as Dutch operators are very thorough. "They often come to Italy to see the orchards and warehouses. In addition, they take soil and leaf samples to verify whether growers comply with the standards."
As regards the market, Elisa added that Europe is saturated and that Italy is limited in Asia as there are only few protocols. It only has interesting agreements with Japan.
Archive photo of the Italian produce being loaded and checked
"True entrepreneurs should be hyper-specialized and assess crops every three years as they do in Spain. I am sorry to say they are much more organized over there. Italy never programs things properly."