"From a cultivation point of view, the cauliflower season is not easy," said Alessandro Vistocco, cultivation manager of Vistocco Group, a company in the Italian province of Salerno. "Due to excessive rainfall, we are not quite achieving the desired level of quality. But sales are running smoothly, there is a lot of demand for cauliflowers."
Pictured, left to right, the members of Vistocco Group: Sabatino Vistocco, Salvatore Vistocco, Carmine Vistocco, Alessandro Vistocco and Carmine Vistocco
"Germany and Great Britain especially are pulling at our sleeve. The cauliflower is appreciated for its qualities. We even call it the king of vegetables," says Alessandro. "But cauliflower prices always seem to fluctuate quite a bit."
Vistocco Group, a family business based in the Sele plain, has been operating since 1980. Today the company has an area of 150 hectares, completely outdoor cultivation. In the winter season, about 80 hectares of white and colored cauliflower and 60 hectares of Romanesco artichoke are grown. In summer, 90 to 100 acres are devoted to growing watermelon and the rest to net melon. The company supplies mainly retail at home and abroad and a small portion (10%) to wholesale markets in northern Italy.
"This year we experimented with Romanesco white cauliflower for the first time. For now, it is still a niche product, but there is definitely demand for it. Furthermore, to expand our range, we are also growing colored cauliflower, also a niche product."
Vistocco Group grows cauliflowers from November to April, artichokes from January to the end of April and (water) melons from mid-July to the end of September. The company has a 1,800-square-meter processing warehouse and two cold stores totaling 450 square meters (one for fresh and one for processed product). The farm's cultivation is GlobalGAP and GRASP certified and 5 acres are reserved for organic cultivation.
"In the future we would like to expand our marketing calendar and therefore we are about to build 2 hectares of greenhouse. Furthermore, we would like to buy a specific machine for processing our artichokes into pre-cut products and we also plan to increase our organic acreage," concluded Vistocco.
For more information: 
Vistocco Group
Via Papaleone 405
84025 Eboli (SA) – Italy
vistoccoaless@gmail.com
salvatorevistocco@gmail.com