"In recent days, strawberries and oranges are leading the sales trend in the fruit and vegetable market. And little does it matter if, especially for strawberries, the temperatures or the period may not stimulate consumption. At the moment there is the opposite problem. Availability is limited for both references, while requests seem to exceed all expectations," said Maria Ferrara, shipping manager of FeVi Frutta, the fruit and vegetable wholesaler that ships its products to almost all Italian regions.
"With regard to strawberries, we are about 10-15 days late compared to last season, due to weather conditions. The variety we are currently marketing is Fortuna, the most popular cultivar in Metapontino for the early variety segment. We are trying to organize shipments on a daily basis, with the intention of providing the customer with a product that is always fresh. The problem is that, for strawberries, it seems that all the markets and players are suddenly interested in this reference, thus forcing us to limit the orders in order to meet the requests, exactly because the climate is slowing down the ripening of the fruit and, therefore, the harvest."
Francesco Viggiano and Maria Ferrara
"We have a high demand from different Italian cities, from the north to the south of the peninsula, even from Calabria and Sicily, despite the presence of strawberry groves already in production in these regions. If we were to compare the current commercial moment with that of the end of November 2020, we could say that this year there is not only greater interest in early strawberries grown in the Metapontino area, but also an increase in selling prices."
"On the other hand, the situation for oranges is very similar and they are also highly demanded by the markets, as opposed to clementines, which are experiencing a period that is not exactly easy, again due to climatic problems. Yields for oranges have decreased by 50%, therefore availability remains limited. The lack of cold weather is slowing down the ripening of fruits. Prices remain high. For the caliber I, wholesale quotations are of 1.50 €/kg, while for the calibers II and III, prices do are not going below 1.30 €/kg".
"Given the trend, customers have already started planning their supplies for the Christmas period, which will be leaving on Friday 3 December, in time for the first Catholic holiday of the season, that is the Immaculate Conception. Usually, during the holidays, orders triple, and prices tend to increase by 15-20%."
For more information: 
FE.VI .Frutta
Via Bellini,10
75025 Policoro (MT)
(+39) 0835/902998
info@fevifrutta.it
fevi.trading@aziendemail.it
www.fevifrutta.it