"Harvesting will start in 15 days' time. For this campaign, we are looking to improve our overall quality and mostly the taste of our products. All our crops follow planning based on the agreements we signed with our partners," explains Vittorio Gona, president of Società cooperativa siciliana AlbaBio located in Marina di Ragusa, Sicily.
Vittorio Gona
Prices in line with the season, slightly on the up
"There are two products we are focusing on when it comes to varietal improvement: date and mini san marzano tomatoes, which are actually the most popular on the market due to their pleasant taste. Date tomatoes are quoted €2.00/kg on average while mini san marzano or marzanino hover around €2.20/kg."
"In addition, our cooperative also produces zucchini, cabbage, celery, artichokes, bunch cherry tomatoes, oval tomatoes and round tomatoes. Prices are in line with the period and tend to increase slightly as it gets colder."
More attention from the institutions
"Based on what we planned, we expect at least a 10% increase in the produce sold. Despite the competition from our Spanish and Moroccan colleagues, we believe there could be a qualitative leap in the organization of production and commercialization. Let us not forget the advantage of Morocco, which does not suffer the Russian embargo. For this and additional reasons, we expect to receive more attention from the institutions and political bodies."
Price anomalies are endured by the weaker link
"We appreciate the work carried out by Minister for Agriculture Teresa Bellanova, especially the way she is involving all players within the chain starting with the weaker ones, i.e. workers. We are especially pleased with the fact she stressed how production costs cannot be higher than sales prices, as it is always the weaker figures that end up paying for this."
"We agree with her that many issues need to be tackled, including the climatic one. For this reason, we ask the offices for agriculture and authorities dealing with said emergencies to be quick when granting help. Italy is the global leader when it comes to many agricultural productions, but they are being counterfeited and this phenomenon is not yet as considered as it should be."
"Finally, we want to be the protagonists of the agricultural future in Italy and Europe while respecting environmental sustainability. We are the ones producing good fruit, not tons of papers."
Contacts:
O.P. Coop. Alba Bio 
Cda Ferranta, SN
97010 Marina di Ragusa (RG)
Tel.: +39 0932 239003
Cell.: +39 335 7856242 (commerciale)
Fax: +39 0932 616014
Email: info@gruppoalbabio.it
Website: www.gruppoalbabio.it