"Year 2023 has started prosperously, with a recovery in consumption, especially for blood oranges. Since early December we have been picking fruit incessantly, which is currently at its peak in terms of flavor, juiciness and sugar content. We are talking first and foremost about our Fragolino®, a Tarocco Lempso orange with excellent pigmentation inside and outside and a strawberry flavor. Hence the name under which it is sold (fragola is Italian for strawberry, nvdr)," said Lucio Olivieri, director of Motta Cooperativa Agricola.
Lucio Olivieri, director of the Sicilian growers' association Motta
Motta Cooperativa Agricola was founded in 2005 by 21 growers of citrus fruits, namely clementines, mandarins and Moro, Navelina, Sanguinello and Tarocco oranges. Cultivation extends over an area of 230 hectares in the fertile plain of Motta Sant'Anastasia, between the sea and the slopes of Mount Etna volcano.
"In these first days of the new year, we are seeing an extraordinary demand for our fruit, especially abroad. And also, the prices are satisfactory. We are talking about €2.20 per kilo at the wholesale market in Verona, which is where our citrus is distributed to the foreign market. Online sales through our website www.arancedagustar.eu are also doing better and better. We are reaching out to households and especially to consumers who value a transparent supply chain. We guarantee them a fresh and natural product, shipped within hours of harvest. The fruit is not treated, and we respect the natural cycles. At the moment, for example, we do not even carry out treatments to avoid dropping the fruit."
The Fragolino® grown by the cooperative is a clone of the Tarocco Lempso and registered under the commercial name Il Fragolino Arancia Rossa®. Over the years, the cooperative has achieved a high degree of specialization in the cultivation of this citrus. The company has invested in communication and presence at trade shows to promote this variety in multiple markets. It is a seedless, spherical orange with an average weight of 250-300 grams, intense pigmentation of both skin and flesh and a balanced sugar to acid ratio. These characteristics are achieved thanks to the quality of the soil and climate in the growing area.
Fragolino Arancia Rossa® with the Etna volcano in the background
Motta Cooperativa Agricola markets the citrus in Italy and Central and Northern Europe, to which it mainly exports the blood oranges (Tarocco Lempso and Ippolito). Exports are growing at an average annual rate of 20%, especially in countries such as Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Sweden and the Netherlands. Those countries often look for products whose skin has not been treated and which are grown in a sustainable and eco-friendly way.
For more information:
Motta Cooperativa Agricola
Lucio Oliveri
Via Policara
Motta S. Anastasia (CT) - Italy
(+39) 339 3249605
(+39) 095 8164035
motta.coop.agr@virgilio.it
www.aranciarossailfragolino.it