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Italy: Focus on the watermelon campaign at the cooperative Acli Racale

The cooperative Acli in Racale in the area of Lecce (Apulia - Italy) cultivates and trades watermelons in greenhouses as well as in the open field from June to August.


Dumara is a cross-breed, oval, stretched-shaped watermelon and it weighs about 10 kg. Its green-striped peel, is thick and so suitable for long transport and prolonged storage.

"Potentially we produce 2,500 tons a year but in difficult seasons, like the last one, characterized by low demand, we had a fall and we produced just 1,000 tons," explains Enzo Manni, sales manager of the cooperative.

"This year we started very well. Domestic demand was high because of the hot temperatures and the weather was favourable to the consumption of these fruits. Plus, supply was lower because surfaces were reduced due to the last year disaster."

"About prices at the beginning of the season they were about 0.50 Euro/kg, then they dropped to 0.20-0.25 Euro/kg and now they are quite steady at 0.15-0.20 Euro/kg to the producers, in the countryside, for the first category," Enzo Manni continues.



Cooperative Acli sells its products in 400-500 kg wooden bins to domestic wholesalers as well as North-East European markets.

"We are thinking about to create partnership among producers in order to present a product connected to our area and define our supply, that is distinguished by earliness and quality, important features in the foreign market," Enzo Manni concludes.

Contact:
Soc. Agr. Coop. ACLI - Racale
Enzo Manni
Via Provinciale Racale - Ugento km 1,1
73055 Racale (LE) - Italy
Phone: +39 (0)833 551848
Fax: +39 (0)833 583484
Email: [email protected]
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