Strawberry sales are up but the climate is reducing their availability

In the southern part of Italy, in Basilicata, farmers are continuing to harvest strawberries, although low temperatures are causing a slowdown in ripening and a consequent reduction in availability. "While demand for strawberries remains brisk, the product is in short supply. The weather over the last week has not allowed us to achieve a fast and homogeneous coloring of the fruit. As a matter of fact, in this last period, in order to guarantee customers a high quality and visually appealing product, we have had to reduce the number of cuttings, thus bringing the volumes sent to the markets to no more than 20-22 tons per day," said Maria Faillace, quality control manageress of OP Zuccarella, from Scanzano Jonico (Matera).

Maria Faillace

"Sales prices are still satisfactory, partly because there is no surplus production. However, the typical early March sprint that usually accompanies us at the peak of the season has been lacking, because of the weather conditions and not because of commercial aspects."

"At the moment, the three varieties we are selling are Sabrosa-Candonga, Fortuna and Inspire. The first two are mainly destined for Italian markets and large-scale retail trade, while Inspire is mainly purchased by European retailers in countries such as Germany, the Netherlands and France. The war between Russia and Ukraine does not seem to be hindering the sales of strawberries, either on the domestic or foreign market, where orders have remained steady."

One of OP Zuccarella's latest innovations is the launch of an e-commerce platform (click here to access it), where you can buy strawberries and citrus fruits from Basilicata (the two products the company sells for most of the year), in different formats. The online shop will allow us to get directly in touch with the end consumers, who are increasingly looking for safe and high-quality food. It is a way of keeping up with the times and guaranteeing that the end user can easily receive our fruit and vegetable offer at home, with delivery within 36 hours of receiving the order," concluded Faillace.