"With the arrival of December, foreign orders for clementines have risen sharply, after the last days of November which saw a slowdown in sales. Right now, the countries of Eastern Europe are leading this trend, especially Poland, Slovakia and Hungary, to which at least one truck leaves our warehouse every day," explained Daniele and Nadia Martucci of Martucci Srl from Massafra (Taranto, Italy).
"These customers would like to have even more supplies, but it is impossible to organize huge volumes for a few foreign destinations, in a year that is seeing a reduction in yields in all Italian clementine growing areas. We must also guarantee continuity to the French and German markets, in addition to the domestic ones."
"It seems there are not enough clementines. We are seeing a huge demand for the defoliated and well-colored product from several Polish and Hungarian buyers, who are responsible for supplying the supermarket chains. The demand is very high, but the prices are not particularly competitive. At the moment, the price starting point is about 0.70-0.75 €/kg for processed goods, of which 0.40 €/kg goes to the producer."
Daniele and Nadia Martucci
"Fortunately, we are handling this boom in orders very well, as we have a large quantity of caliber III and IV fruits on the plants, which are the preferred sizes for most European markets, thus reserving caliber I and II clementines for the Italian market."
"We are aware of the not-so-positive reputation of some Eastern European companies on disputes and missed payments. That's why, especially in the case of new customers, we ask for payment in advance before the goods are shipped. However, we don't lump everything together, also because we have been working for decades with Polish and Hungarian companies, which are great entrepreneurial role models."
"This year we started about 15 days late with exports, due to the slow ripening of the fruit. The sharp drop in temperature last week in the Ionian areas has accelerated the veraison of the fruit (change of color from green to orange), thus allowing us to ensure greater quantities of citrus with a homogeneous coloration. We expect a further increase in requests from next weekend, due to the approach of the Christmas holidays. If the weather is favorable, we will be able to sell clementines until late February."
For more information:
Martucci Srl
Via Chiatona,
74016 Massafra (TA)
+39 338 2620262
martucci.export@tiscali.it
martucci.info