The Colt. Or Cooperative was established in 2006 and it currently counts 15 entrepreneurs. It deals with the production and sale of produce coming from members in the agro fucense (former Fucino lake) and Agro romano, pontino and pugliese areas.
Colt. Or has two facilities on a total of 6,000 square metres and employs 180-200 workers.
They mainly produce vegetables: carrots (20,000 tonnes on 250 hectares), fennel (3,000 tonnes on 100 hectares), endive (3,000 tonnes on 100 hectares), chicory (2,500 tonnes on 75 hectares) and potatoes (2,500 tonnes on 50 hectares), with a constantly increasing turnover which reached €17,084 million in 2012. In 2013, it should reach €21 million, almost entirely from the domestic market.
"Our main sales channels are retailers and fresh-cut companies," explains Antonio Alfonsi, director of the Cooperative, which is specialised in packed, unwashed, loose, in trays, packets, bags and Jumbo carrots.
"Each year is different, so it's difficult to compare them, though the general price index is more or less the same. What we have noticed, is a drop in demand for salad, especially in summer."
"As regards carrots, 2013 was very good for producers up until July-August as the weather slowed sowing down and so there was no overproduction. Now though, prices are not very profitable as they are even dropping below production costs."
"Of course we have to distinguish between price at the origin and final price. Prices in supermarkets are pretty misleading, especially for carrots, as they are 8 times what farmers get on average. They can barely cover costs with €0.11 ."
"Organic carrots are becoming more popular both in Italy and abroad, and prices are more profitable. We manage to export the whole year round with our Almaverde Bio brand," continues the director.
"After a brilliant spring due to the lack of produce, summer was horrible for endive, as demand was low and a lot of produce remained on fields. The same happened to chicory."
"As regards potatoes, harvesting started at the end of July, and producers were paid €0.30, then the figure dropped to €0.23. Harvesting is still going on. We expect prices to rise around Christmas, but that doesn't mean they will."
"Finally, fennel did not do very well, except for very brief periods. Margins were therefore very low, presumably because of the lack in demand caused by the crisis," adds Alfonsi.
"Since 2012, Colt.Or has also been selling fresh-cut potatoes and other products for leading companies in the purée and soup sector. Thanks to our collaboration with Almaverde Bio, we have developed the organic carrot line and we are working on new ones for organic potatoes and onions. In addition, we are experimenting with new varieties of carrots and potatoes with better yields and organoleptic qualities."
"In the future, we would like to develop the fresh-cut range - especially for carrots and potatoes - and create high-quality Solarelli and Almaverde Bio lines with Mediterraneo Group to try to get into new markets."
Contacts
Colt.Or. Società Coop. arl
Via Circonfucense
67057 Venere di Pescina (AQ)
Tel.: (+39) 863 839130
Fax: (+39) 863 839041
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.coltor.it