Italy: Lights and shadows for summer fruit, penalized above all by the rise in costs

Fruit growing is in great difficulty due to the explosion of production costs which in the summer season were not offset by the increase in sales prices. As regards peaches and nectarines produced in Northern Italy, in particular - according to Michele Ponso, president of the National Product Federation of Confagricoltura - the 2022 campaign had to be a good campaign: starting with adequate volumes, excellent fruit quality and consumption. satisfactory, the 4-5% increase in sales achieved in July, the key month of the harvest, bode well. Instead, the first signs of a slowdown then evolved into a real decline in consumption recorded starting from August. The reduction is around 12-14% in August and 7-8% in September. “The decline in sales of peaches and nectarines - emphasizes Ponso - was affected by a reduced purchasing power of consumers linked to the economic crisis which consequently led to a reduction in price lists. In fact, in the absence of demand, the distribution chains ...