"Last year, fruit and vegetable Christmas orders were not that satisfactory and things do not seem to have changed much this year. While consumers are increasingly aware as regards the freshness and genuineness of products, fruits and vegetables tend to stay in the background this time of year," explains Rocco Viggioano from Fe.Vi. Frutta in Policoro (Matera).
"At the moment, various products have yet to see the classic price increase typical of Christmas. Demand does not grow throughout the entire month, but only in the few days before Christmas."
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"While in 2018 clementines were sold at €0.50/kg max, this year the price could exceed €1 considering the low availability envisaged for the festive period. As for oranges, the market is slow with sales prices not exceeding €0.55-0.60/kg."
"Last year, apples sold at low prices due to the market being saturated. However, this year, quotations have increased especially for the Golden, Stark and Fuji varieties. Sales prices go from €0.65 to €0.85/kg for second category fruit and from €0.90 to €1.20/kg for first category fruit. The pear situation is similar with the price of small grades not dropping below €1.75/kg."
"Sales will definitely increase over the next few days, but not so much after all. In the end, all markets purchase something more in the hope of commercializing it, but people now tend to eat more in restaurants and hotels, which of course leads to a drop in sales."