Compared to last year, the current trend of the citrus season has shown an increase in pre-campaign orders for packaging companies. This is due to the fact that the farms had or expected a satisfactory harvest.
This trend is confirmed by Antonio Castelluccio, Sales Manager of
Pack System, a company specialized in the processing of packaging made of cardboard, plastic and wood.
"To date, the orders have not been translated into actual deliveries," the operator explains, "as the campaign has slowed down significantly due to the prolonged mild weather. In fact, in October alone, compared to last year, the total amount of packaging (primary and secondary) delivered to our customers decreased by 20 percent, in line with the delays caused by the off-season weather and the prolonged heat. This has had an impact on our business; while we had to procure and store all the product, we expected to deliver this month because of the lack of packaging demand, we have been forced to keep more material on hand in the hope of disposing of the inventory in the coming months. There are about 20 citrus farms that we supply, operating between Basilicata, Calabria and Puglia."
However, the weather has not only affected the current citrus campaign, but also those of other references. "A cold, rainy spring and early summer extended the strawberry season but had a negative impact on the stone fruit season. The unusually warm weather in September/October delayed the grape campaign, but also delayed the ripening of citrus fruit by about 20 days. The harvest has just begun."
Overall, packaging is less of a burden on farm budgets than it was a year ago. "The cost of packaging has varied widely in recent months; in the first half of the year, we saw a significant decrease in the cost of plastic packaging and, to a lesser extent, paper packaging. While paper raw materials continued to fall, albeit to a very limited extent in the summer, plastic raw materials saw a slight increase, particularly in the case of polypropylene (PP). However, price increases were moderate and did not lead to significant increases in packaging prices.”
The types of packaging used by citrus companies have not changed much from the past. The choice also depends a lot on the processing and the size of the citrus. "In general," says Castelluccio, "for bulk processing, we sell quite a lot of 2 kg cartons, which are perhaps the most popular sizes, especially for clementines and mandarins. The other types used, also in bulk, are the 40x30 cm boxes, in different heights according to the number of rows and the size of the citrus fruit. As secondary packaging for the 2 or 2.5 kg cardboard trays, we are very much in demand for 50x30 cm, but also 60x40 cm.”
For more information:
Pack System Srl
Via Bellini, 11
75025 Policoro (MT)
+39 0835 901068 - 339 2018577
[email protected]
packsistem.com
