The first strawberries in Emilia Romagna were picked in the local areas of origin. The protected crop production is now reaching maturity. Mirco Zanelli, commercial director of Apofruit Italia, said that "The harvest has just started with the Brilla, Asia, Aprica varieties. The quality is very good and yields will start to increase in the coming days."
About the market trend, Zanelli is hopeful. "This year the strawberry market is in turmoil. Last week was very good, while this first two days of this week have been slower. Prices are still fair. We are receiving both domestic and foreign demand".
An important producer from Romagna is Antonio Benzi, who grows almost 500,000 plants in the Cesena lowlands. "The harvest began a few days ago and I only grow Sibilla. I am satisfied with the quality, that is, the durability and the sugar degree. It is a very good strawberry. The prices started off quite well, also because there is not much product coming from the South and the market is not saturated."
With regard to the workforce, Benzi had to make up for it with last-minute workers, as its former foreign employees were stuck in their countries of origin because of the Coronavirus. "It's exhausting, because these people are inexperienced. I hired about thirty or so inexperienced people and, of these, only ten learned quickly. We hope to make up for lost time."
In terms of destinations, Benzi sells both abroad and in Italy. "The supermarkets are meeting up well, and deliveries to foreign countries have also started. At the moment, the product is limited and the strawberries are ripening slowly, as the temperatures have dropped and it's always raining."
The Fabbri company in Santarcangelo di Romagna (Rimini) has just
started. "We picked the first strawberries, Joly (photo on the right) and Asia - explained Maurizio Fabbri - and we are very satisfied with the quality, so are our technicians in Agribologna. We hope that the campaign keeps going well. We are struggling on the labour front, because it was not easy to find workers and many of those who asked us for work are totally inexperienced. We hope they will adapt soon".
