"Things have not been going well for producers for at least 20 years. From a strictly logical point of view, I believe it is inexplicable that products are not suitably remunerated. Producers are forced to sell below production costs when quotations on the shelves are so high that consumers at times tend to make fewer purchases. Ours is a category that struggles every day and that does not ask the government for money: all we want is to obtain fair remuneration for our hard work," explains Luciano Latorraca, owner of Azienda agricola Patemisco, specializing in the production and processing of clementines and Navel-type blond oranges.
In the photo, Luciano Latorraca in a photo taken on February 23, 2024 during an exclusive Zoom meeting with the University of Kyoto, with whom the producer shared the history of seedless clementines from Puglia and the values of his business.
"The Comune clementine campaign has just ended in a late orchard in Puglia, meaning harvesting lasted longer than average. There are years when we finish harvesting in mid-February, but this year the campaign started late due to the weather, and therefore it lasted until the end of the month. Despite the rather complex picture, we can say we have been lucky because temperatures and humidity have been rather good during the past month. Humidity always risks causing rot problems for clementines, plus it affects shelf-life."
"Consumption has been rather slow, not only because fruits are reaching final consumers at prices that are too high, but also because there was a lot of produce from Turkey at low prices. Luckily the higher volumes available compensated the low quotations. We are talking about a starting price of 25-30 eurocents/Kg, which triples in the general wholesale markets. Fruits unsuitable to be sold fresh - around 10% - were processed to make juice and marmalade."
Patemisco clementine juices are very much in demand, because they represent something new compared with traditional citrus fruit flavors. Fruits are harvested and processed to extract the juice, which is then filtered, pasteurized and bottled in 200 ml bottles.
Clementine compote is processed naturally with minimum sugar quantities, without thickeners or colorings. Their peculiarity is linked precisely with composition, which features a fruit percentage of 75% with 25% sugar.
The main sales channels are the general markets all over Italy for the fresh produce and specialized stores, bars and the catering industry for the processed products.
Company history
Patemisco was founded in 1965 and specializes in the production and commercialization of Fukumoto, Navel and Navelate oranges as well as of Clemenruby clementines. Around 700 tons are growing on 80 hectares in Massafra (TA), in Puglia. Part of the production was recently renewed with more resistant early and late varieties. The entire production was turned fully organic in 2022, since natural productions have been rewarding from a commercial point of view over the past few years as, despite the lower yields/hectare, they obtain higher quotations.
For further information:
Azienda Agricola Patemisco
Luciano Latorraca
Strada comunale, 48
74016 Massafra (TA)
(+39) 099 8855964
(+39) 333 7670020
info@patemisco.it
www.patemisco.it