Italy: October is peak month for Sicilian grapes

"The weather favoured us as Italia grapes are healthy, sweet and yellow, so they will be much appreciated in France, Switzerland and Germany as well as on the domestic market," explains Giovanni Raniolo, chairman of the PGI Mazzarrone Grapes Consortium.

At the moment, Italia, Red Globe and Black Pearl are being processed in Sicily as well as few seedless grapes, although Apulia is much more specialised in that sector.

So far, the campaign was good with satisfactory prices, as quotations for Italia grapes hover between €0.60-0.80. Red Globe is sold at around 10 cents less.

Giovanni Raniolo.

"There is 20-25% less fruit on average, but it's normal if we considered that plants overproduced last year. Because of the dry weather, bunches are not very big, with average quality and a high Brix level (17-18). We think the year has been good so far."

"Thanks to the colour of our grapes, the market is providing us with a good feedback. Our peak month will be October, and the campaign will end around 10-15 November."

As regards the Russian ban, he said that "we have had a few problems, but not that many as our produce is not suitable for their market. I believe Apulian producers were more affected. We have looked at other markets though, in fact we are working with a few Arab countries."

With respect to the previous years, this year the produce is not being stored in cold storage units, as growers prefer to harvest grapes when ripe and sell them at the right price.

Contacts:
Giovanni Raniolo - Chairman
Consorzio uva da tavola IGP di Mazzarrone
Email: info@corasrl.net