Demand for exotic fruit is rather lively. It is a good moment for soursop (cherimoya), mangoes and avocados while citrus fruit, clementines and lemons are late. The summer fruit season is ending and, after the bad weather of around twenty years ago, temperatures have gone up, meaning the production/ripening of winter fruit is delayed.
"Demand for soursop, mangoes and avocados is good in central-southern Italy and northern Europe. Soursops are very popular at the moment with a low availability of large fruits, so prices hover between €1.00 and €1.80 for PDO productions."
"When it comes to mangoes, the price of field or processed produce varies from €1.00-1.50 to €2.00-2.50. Avocados are expensive but quality is good: once sorted and packaged, they can reach as much as €6.00/kg. Mixed-grade second-category fruits sell at around €1.60-2.50," explains Giuseppe Iacovazzo, an Italian operator based in Spain.
The bad weather slightly affected production. "There are few clementines of excellent quality and demand is clearly high. Branded fruits (such as those below left) sell at around €1.50-2.00 depending on grade and processing, but discreet quality clementines can be purchased at €0.70-0.80 (below right)."
"Persimmons are still too green, therefore selected fruits with a suitable color reach higher prices. However, quotations are dropping as the campaign is peaking."
The harvesting of Primofiore lemons is still underway as "the warm temperatures are not making fruits ripen as they should."
"Demand and prices for high-quality Percoca peaches are good. The summer fruit campaign is almost over and there is a good supply of plums as well."