Italy: Strawberries are profitable, though drop expected for Summer fruit

1,080 hectares of pear trees which produce more than 11,160 tons of Summer pears (9,155 tons of which are white/red Williams) and 33,545 tons of Winter pears (24,926 of which are Abate); 750 hectares of kiwi trees which produce 19,260 tons of green kiwis and almost 800 tons of gold ones. On top of this, apples, peaches, nectarines, plums, strawberries, apricots and tomatoes.

The main products collected by partners and sold by the PO are strawberries, cherries, apricots, plums, peaches, Percoca peaches and nectarines, pears, apples, kiwis, lotus and tomatoes.

Apples trees grow on 385 hectares and they produce 2,292 tons of Summer apples and 20,474 tons of Winter apples such as Pink Lady (11,185 tons) and Fuji (4,780 tons). Peach (1,874 tons) and nectarine (6,278 tons) trees grow on 379 hectares. 

Among the main AFE crops are plums (72 ha producing over 1,500 tons), strawberries (438 tons), apricots (50 ha, over 3,500 tons) and tomatoes (over 10,190 tons).

Chairman Mauro Grossi says, "in 2012, AFE handled 82,700 tons collected by partners and bought by third parties which, after having been properly refrigerated, processed and packaged, were sold by UNACOA, a fellow company collecting and selling the produce coming from various POs and operators."



In 2012, the main sales channels were the foreign fresh market (64%), internal fresh market (16.3%), national mass retailing (12.3%) and the processing industry (7.4%)

The main foreign destination countries are, in order of importance, Germany, Russia, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Libya, France, Belgium, United Kingdom, Denmark, etc.

Marco Gross adds that, "despite having a guidance role, AFE does not develop new varieties, though it tests new products and intervenes in the choice of new cultivars from those available on the market by indicating the most interesting ones. It also promotes the compliance with Integrated production specifications and organic agricultural methods, defining together with producers cultivation techniques that comply with the specifications of clients."



A technical assistance network for partners means we can uniform the production with requested standards. Conditioning structures with the most advanced stocking and packaging techniques enable us to guarantee the health and safety of processed fruit and vegetables. AFE has the ISO 9001:2008, GSFS-BRC, ISF, GlobalGAP and PGI certifications.

Expectations for the season
"Harvesting of strawberries in the North started one week later than last year. Foreign and internal demand are both good, though prices are lower than last year and do not cover production costs. This was due to the excessive production from Spain, which affected us up until 10 days ago. Currently though, as Spanish produce is missing, the trend on the market is more profitable."

"Stone fruit are also one week late in blossoming with respect to 2012. As regards early apricot varieties, there is 15-20% less produce, especially of the Ninfa variety in Puglia. Plum production is also expected to be lower, especially for the Agneleno variety in Puglia."

"Generally, we can expect a drop in production of summer fruit caused by bad weather. As regards surfaces, they are diminishing in the North because obsolete varieties are no longer being planted and they are not being substituted with new ones. In the South, there is a slight increase of investments, especially as regards apricots," concludes Mauro Grossi.

Contacts:
AFE Associazione Frutticoltori Estense SCarl
Via Bologna, 714
44124 Ferrara
Tel.: (+39) 0532 785511
Fax: (+39) 0532 785523
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.afe.it