"A truckload of grapes of both seeded and seedless varieties reaches our customers in Scandinavia and the Baltics every day, even though the harvesting and marketing of Apulian grapes is not yet fully underway, partly because selection in the field is very careful and, with these high temperatures, it is easy to find more product to discard," explained Claudio D'Alba, general manager of the Plantis Group, the Apulian company that supplies the Horeca channels, wholesalers and foreign large-scale retail chains.
Claudio D'Alba and Lenka Brostikova
"The demand from buyers in these countries has always stood out in terms of volume compared to other European countries - such as Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia - to whom we continue to supply good quantities. Scandinavian consumers seem to prefer greener grapes, while Baltic consumers prefer more yellow grapes. At the moment, we are shipping Black Magic, Victoria and recently also Palieri for seeded varieties, while for seedless varieties we are continuing with Superior and Summer Royal, while waiting for the first red seeded grapes.
"We are now in the final stages with the Sicilian grapes, after about 2 months of sales. It has been a better season than last year, even if, in the last 15 days, a lot of the produce has been damaged and burnt due to the scorching temperatures, which have reached 60°C under tarpaulins."
"The quality and prices of Italian grapes remain extraordinary, but we are worried about the first imports of grapes from Eastern Europe (especially Macedonia) into the markets we already supply. This will make it difficult for us to find our own dimension and gain new customers. We know very well how difficult it is to compete with these countries, because of the considerable difference in operating costs compared to those in Italy. Only in the next few weeks will we be able to have a more up-to-date picture and understand how the market is evolving."
For more information:
Plantis Group
Piazza Ebalia 7
74123 Taranto
(+39) 99 4521842
info@plantis.it
www.plantis.it