Agricola Lusia is a relatively-young company that boasts the experience of three generations and which specializes in the procurement, packaging and distribution of oranges, lemons, grapefruit and soft citrus (clementines, tangerines, etc.).
"Our experience enabled us to build and strengthen a network of high-level producers holding the GlobalGAP certification. Our produce comes from both the southern (Argentina, South Africa, Uruguay and Brazil) and northern (Italy, Spain, Cyprus, Egypt, Israel) hemispheres depending on the season. This means we can guarantee high-quality punctual supplies to the big retail chain."
In the photo: Daniele Campagnaro, owner of Agricola Lusia
In 2019, Agricola Lusia handled approximately 20 million kg of citrus fruit.
"We will end 2020 with a considerable increase. If we consider the entire Gruppo SOM, which our company is part of, we exceeded 50 million kg of citrus fruit in 2019."
In 2020, the ratio between demand and supply was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, as was to be expected. This led to a surprising peak in demand during the first lockdown, however consumption dropped in autumn following the new closures imposed by the government.
"As regards the supply of citrus fruit from overseas, it was limited mainly during the summer period precisely due to the logistic problems caused by the difficulties in managing the lockdown in Argentina, South Africa and Uruguay."
In 2020, quotations have been generally higher than in 2019. This increase, particularly evident in the case of oranges from overseas, is due mainly to the considerable increase in demand on a global level (due to the pandemic) while supply remained unchanged, but also to the limited availability caused by logistic problems.
The Agricola Lusia facility: over 4,000 sq m built in an ideal location to guarantee efficient deliveries all over northern and central Italy. A team of 70 operators works with state-of-the-art machinery to meet client demands.
"While, on the one hand, the pandemic favored consumption during the first semester, the increase in contagion and partial blocking of non-strategic activities led to heavy criticalities on the logistic front. These problems have had a considerable impact on intra-Community road transport (with price increases that reached as much as 100% between April and June) as well as ship transport from overseas, with the lack of personnel causing problems to container traffic management leading to delays and disservices."
"If we analyze the fluctuating demand of 2020, we can see how more careful market segmentation is needed to meet new purchasing and consumer trends. The challenge will be to find new high-quality products to meet the new purchasing needs of families."
"Together with its producer partners, Agricola Lusia is focusing on supplying healthy and sustainable products by shortening the long-haul trading chain."
The main distribution channel for Agricola Lusia is the big retail chain. The company supplies over 15 retailers and over 4000 stores in total. As testament to the high quality of the products and services supplied to its clients, the company has obtained the prestigious IFS Food, GlobalGAP and ICEA Biologico certifications.
Agricola Lusia awarded the prize "Industria Felix - Imprese competitive, affidabili e sostenibili"
Agricola Lusia was among the winners of the "Industria Felix, L'Italia che compete" prize for 2020 - the prestigious prize awarded to excellent Italian businesses that have stood out thanks to their management performances and financial reliability.
In particular, after careful evaluation that examined the various parameters in comparison with those of over one million businesses on a national level, Agricola Lusia was among the best in the Under 40 category in the Veneto and the best in the Rovigo province.
Left to right: Nicola Modica and Daniele Campagnaro
"I am very pleased as, to us, it means we are on the right path, as proved also by the preliminary results of a difficult year which though should end with a two-figure growth in turnover. These results are a starting point for an ambitious project that will involve the R&D and Marketing departments. The challenge for the next three years is to revolutionize our business model to grow in an increasingly-demanding and competitive market so as to be closer to our clients and consumers without forgetting the environment."
Manager Nicola Modica commended that "this important prize is a great recognition for the considerable business restructuring work started four years ago and which has led to the implementation of the most modern controlling techniques, with the objective of obtaining updated and safe data to use for monitoring and strategic planning purposes."
Contacts:
Agricola Lusia S.r.l.
Via dell'Artigianato, 261
45020 Lusia (RO) - Italy
Tel.: (+39) 0425 607902
Email: marketing@agricolalusia.it
Website: www.agricolalusia.it