FreshPlaza spoke with two kiwifruit farms operating in the area of Cisterna di Latina (Lazio region - Italy)."Conferring the product (currently only Hayward kiwifruit) to a cooperative, after a long period of congestion, the market is finally moving. At the moment, I believe thus the demand/supply ratio is balanced," Carlo Chillon says. "The price of the product on the supermarket shelves is always the same or higher than last year. But the producer receives less and less, claiming higher volumes."
"The dry weather and the certainly un-winter-like temperatures helped, on the one hand, to contrast the 'phenomenon' of PSA, on the other did not give the plant the correct hours of cold, able to induce a proper period of dormancy. We hope that the situation will improve in the coming days."
"As for trade competition, the Italian kiwifruit must now face up to competition coming from many parts of the world. On the market the product is guaranteed for twelve months a year; in my opinion, not all countries (even better only a few, including Italy) are able to offer a seriously checked product, with organoleptic properties that tempt people to consume kiwifruit."
Moreover, Luciano Chiarucci of Azienda Agricola Marfoli Maria reported a surplus of supply, resulting in a decline of 20% on the price of the kiwifruit. "Till now there are no climatic influences on the production cycle, or particular competition with foreign product," he notes.