The sun did us some damage at first, but it gave us summer-like weather

"This never-ending summer has favored the consumption of Sicilian peaches and nectarines in a campaign characterized by a slow start, as the last batches of products from northern Italy and the first shipments of Sicilian products overlapped", says Giovanni Scavo, Sales Manager of Il Girasole Soc. Coop.

The Cooperative Il Girasole is a growing Sicilian company located on the slopes of Mount Etna, in the industrial area of Paternò (CT). The company has a covered area of about 3,500 square meters, plus cold rooms that allow the storage of about 600 tons and the rotation of another 300 tons of products. The cooperative has 500 hectares of citrus groves. These are cultivated with early, medium and late varieties and are located in the production areas of the PGI Sicilian Blood Orange. The most important are the Navel, the Tarocco, the Moro and the Sanguinello, the Lemon, the Clementine Nova and the Mandarin Tardivo di Ciaculli. Among the summer fruits there are peaches, nectarines and pears. Another 100 hectares grow stone fruit (peaches/nectarines) in the areas between the provinces of Caltanissetta and Agrigento, and pears grown between Bronte and Maniace.

"Week by week," says Giovanni Scavo, "with one eye on the calendar and the other on the weather, we have moved forward. We are almost halfway through October. Compared to other years, we are almost even between harvest and processing in terms of stocks, so we have been able to offer consumers a very fresh product, with very few days of storage. the product has therefore reached the consumer's table within a few days of harvesting, basically after the technical times of transport and distribution. This, together with the mild temperatures, contributed to the preservation and better appreciation of the sensory characteristics, in terms of taste and freshness, of our peaches and nectarines."

"It's not all sunshine and roses, of course. While the campaign can be considered exceptional in terms of the quantities processed and sold (around 1,200 tons processed between yellow, white and nectarines), it wasn't so exceptional in terms of economics, since the small to medium sizes were proportionally larger than the medium to large sizes, so in terms of price it's clear that a B or A size can never be priced like a 3A. However, with the help of the entire supply chain, we were able to jump over the hurdles to ensure that our producers were properly compensated for the coming season."

"With regard to consumption, which has always been favored by the weather, we can only state that, as always, the greater part of production has been absorbed by the large national distribution companies, which are always in constant demand. The Horeca sector has come to appreciate our fruit as an excellent quality branded product. Our well-known and highly valued peaches and nectarines, which are marketed under the Donna Rosa and Felicia brands, stand out in this respect.”

"As we approach the end of this campaign, we can say that our expectations have been met and that we are proud to have been able to guarantee a consistent supply to our customers in the supermarkets and vegetable markets and, above all, to have left a good impression on consumers, who will be able to enjoy our summer products for a few more days."