"Italian blueberry production up in 2023 and to increase in 2024"

In these days of mid-autumn, at the Sant'Orsola cooperative, the evaluation of the 2023 harvest and the forecasts for 2024 are overlapping. The focus is on the blueberry that the cooperative produces from the north to the south of Italy, on the farms of its 800 members. The strategies adopted will allow the cooperative to increase its own production in the coming year, thanks to a major renewal of the plantations and an increase in the number of members producing the blueberry in the Italian regions where the cooperative is present.

Sant'Orsola is consolidating its already close working relationships with foreign producers in order to satisfy customers by guaranteeing sales volumes that meet demand, even during months when the product is in short supply in Italy. It is now also in the process of identifying and establishing relationships with other suppliers, partly in response to the decline in production and yields in important areas of the world. This is exemplified by the case of Peru.

All of this is done while maintaining strict control over the cultivation methods. The aim is to maintain the quality of the Sant'Orsola berries at the high level that has been recognized by the market for years. Moreover, the entire blueberry chain agrees that only quality assurance will be able to satisfy the growing demand for crunchy and healthy berries in the years to come.

Looking closely at the trend in 2023, Sant'Orsola recorded an increase in the quantity and quality of blueberries produced and a steady and smooth flow of sales. This was in contrast to the 2022 harvest, when unusual climatic factors delayed production in the south and brought production forward in the north, resulting in an excessive quantity of product in an excessively short period of time, with an imbalance between supply and demand and an impact on prices.

The excellent quality of the Sant'Orsola blueberry, which was well received by the markets, had a very positive effect on the cooperative, allowing it to have no product in stock.

In addition, there has been a tangible recognition by customers of the value of the Zero Residual blueberry produced by the cooperative. After being tested and produced only in the south of Italy, the product has now been introduced in members' greenhouses in the north of the country, gaining a significant share of the market and, in the course of the year, other important and well-known distribution chains have joined the initial ones. All of this has allowed Sant'Orsola to maintain and further strengthen the entire Residuo Zero chain throughout the whole of Italy.

Large retailers have been particularly pleased with the expansion of the range of blueberry packages on the shelf. These have been specifically designed to meet the many and changing demands of consumers. Blueberry packs now range from 150 to 200 grams and from 250 to 500 grams. Of course, they are all made of recycled and further recyclable PET. In addition, the picking method is designed to avoid the use of intermediate packaging, which is beneficial for the environment.

The Sant'Orsola blueberry is recognized on the market for its stability of quality in spite of climatic variations. This is due to the choice of varieties made by the Cooperative and to the techniques introduced in the field, the result of more than 20 years of work by the Research and Development Department and the methods and technologies introduced in the processing plant.