The strawberry campaign in the Metapontino region (Basilicata - Italy) is going on unabated. What makes it even more interesting are the prices and the increase in requests from Europe.
"We ship around 35 pallets a day to various European destinations, such as Hamburg, Nuremberg, Stuttgart, London and Paris. Each customer is served twice a week, with strawberries reaching the markets at their best stage of ripeness and no later than 36 hours after picking. At the moment, we have more than 250 trained women pickers in our fields who select the best strawberries for national and international markets," said Giuseppe Zuccarella of the producers' organization OP Zuccarella agricultural cooperative in Scanzano Jonico (Matera).
"Over the last few days, also due to the low presence of the Spanish product, we have been seeing a 30% increase in orders from Germany, Great Britain and France, both for the large-scale retail trade and for the general markets. We are talking about varieties that have a long shelf-life and are therefore well suited to long-distance transport. Quotations also seem to be favorable, with selling prices around 4.50-5.50 €/kg, about 20% higher compared to the same period last year. A small part of our production is shipped to the domestic market, with destinations in all regions of Italy".
"The idea of scheduling the crops allows us to obtain a twofold advantage of being able to offer our strawberries for 10 months of the year, especially thanks to certain types of plants, and to have consistent volumes from the beginning of January, with a slight increase in the warmer months, thus eliminating the problem of the classic spring production peaks and the consequent depreciation of the goods.
"The sale of oranges also seems to be going well in Europe, compared to the Italian domestic market. We are in the final stages of harvesting Navel and VCR, but in the next few days we will start with Lane Late and other later cultivars, which will allow us to extend the marketing calendar to the beginning of May.
For more information: 
OP Zuccarella Soc. Coop. Agr.
Via Parisi, 16 - Scanzano Jonico (MT)
+39 0835 418009
info@opzuccarella.it
opzuccarella.it