The medium-late table grape campaign seems to be particularly difficult from both a commercial and production point of view. Salvatore Lodico, president of Consorzio dell'uva da tavola di Canicattì Igp, talks about the bad news concerning the seedless and traditional produce.
Salvatore Lodico
"There definitely was a preference for seedless grapes, however there was a drop in consumption for those as well. Nonetheless, we must say that the extra-quality traditional grapes always sold without too many problems despite the difficulties. As for the standard produce, quotations did not cover production costs due to a lack of territorial planning. If a product has a good quality, it always finds room, especially our Italia grapes that boasts special color, flavor and aftertaste.
"After talking with the other actors of the fair, the need has emerged to focus on high-quality, which must be in line with our specifications to obtain the PGI mark precisely to safeguard the territory. Of course we must not deny innovation, but remaining faithful to traditional varieties does not mean relinquishing quality, but actually exalting it. For this reason too, the directives set out by the consortium aim at an increased healthiness of the produce by reducing pesticides by 50% with the indication of reaching zero residue soon."
"We need to be fully sustainable when it comes to health, the economy, the environment and, therefore, the rationalization of natural and energy resources. We push our members towards agriculture 4.0 for energy saving and efficiency, which are the first tools for business economics. So, in addition to zero residue, we also aim at zero emissions using photovoltaic panels that help save on irrigation thanks to state-of-the-art systems such as sub-irrigation and putting yields and high-quality first."
"Between August and October, the quotations of Italia grapes at production hovered between €0.35-0.45 for the standard produce and €0.55-0.60 for the extra-quality produce. Something moved in November, but nothing of significance if compared with the losses, with prices of €0.45-0.55 for the standard produce and €0.60-0.70 for the extra-quality produce. We have registered a 40% drop in commercialized volumes in total. As for Red Globe, they are not part of our PGI specification but they are worth a mention because they exceed €1."
"Finally, I would like to stress the fundamental topics we focus on as a consortium: 1) health, economic and environmental sustainability; 2) a productive economic aspect aimed at mitigating production costs using technology; 3) a high-quality production, which must go hand in hand with the territory and its unique soil and weather conditions."
For further information: 
Salvatore Lodico
Consorzio per la Tutela e la
Promozione dell'uva da tavola
di Canicattì I.G.P.
C.da Carlino, snc
92024 Canicattì (AG) - Italia
+39 333 2454985
uvaigpcanicatti@virgilio.it