The cold weather in winter meant producers were hopeful for the stone fruit season, as setting was good. "However, hail on Easter Monday damaged some productions and frost did the rest. Many orchards registered losses of between 10 and 20%," explained Dario Altamura, quality control manager for Trea Fruit.
The company was established in 2011 by Simone together with brothers Antonio and Dario and focuses on the cultivation and commercialisation of peaches, nectarines, apricots, Percoca peaches and white peaches between May and October.
"Harvesting started in May but the market wasn't very good, as the weather didn't push consumption and actually caused overproduction on a European level. Sometimes prices didn't even cover production costs. As regards apricots, 2017 represented the end of the Ninfa variety and anyway the apricot segment suffered more than the peach one," continues sales director Simone Altamura.
"We're currently passing from the medium-early to the medium-late varieties, so the market is fluctuating a lot: some days the produce is lacking while, on other days, there is too much of it. We hope temperatures will increase, so ripening will be more staggered thus reinstating the balance between supply and demand."
The only thing that is certain is that "high-quality is the only thing that always pays. This is why we started to collaborate with Azienda Agricola Bollino Nicola, which chose high quality standards for what concerns both technical-varietal innovation and commercialisation strategies. We are always pleased with their products."
Trea Fruit owns 30,000 square metres of hydroponic greenhouses where it grows strawberries (harvested between October and May). It also cultivates table grapes, which ripen between July and December. "Our products are available on the market 12 months a year, so we can guarantee continuous supplies of high-quality produce and stand out."
As regards strawberries, the frost and snow in January created a concentration in April that the market couldn't absorb also due to the presence of Spanish and Greek produce. "In 2017, we had the lowest prices of the past 10 years."
Trea Fruit
Trea Fruit is the dream of three young brothers (Simone, Antonio and Dario Altamura) who, with their ten years of experience in the production and commercialisation of fresh produce, decided to establish a company suitable for new market needs.
The centre can process approximately 100 tons a day of peaches, nectarines, Percoca peaches and white peaches. Apricots are processed by hand and grapes are processed in the vineyard.
Units can store approx. 300 tons of processed and 300 tons of unprocessed produce. "Planned sales mean the produce doesn't remain stored for more than 24 hours and enables us to maintain the cold chain intact and supply fresh yet fully ripe fruit."
"We can provide all kinds of packaging: plastic, wood, cardboard...anything. Our main clients are Italian retailers and some food centres all over Italy. Abroad, our produce is destined mainly to Germany, Croatia and other European countries. We hold the GlobalGAP certification and aim at obtaining the IFS and BRC certifications in 2018. Our products are sold under the Trea Fruit or Altamura brands."
"Our objective for the future is to start with protected crops. We cannot rely on the weather and the technology available today means results are guaranteed," concludes Dario.
Contatti:
Simone Altamura - sales manager
Cell.: +39 340 3104822
Trea Fruit Srl
76017 San Ferdinando di Puglia (BT)
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.treafruit.com
