Italy produces around 100,000 tons of cherries per season. Although the sector faces some challenges in maintaining its production, it continues to make efforts to improve its place in the global market. Smartcherry spoke with Cataldo Lobascio, an agricultural engineer and horticultural consultant with extensive experience in southern Italy, who gave us an overview of cherry production in the country.
What is the production outlook for cherries in Italy?
«In Italy we have two production areas, one in the south, in Puglia, where we produce 60-70% of the national cherry and it is also the first harvesting area in Italy. And there is a second area which is in Emilia Romagna and in Modena, with 30-40% of the total production. There are other areas, but they have a smaller production.»
“In terms of biodiversity profile, in the south we have a huge number of varieties. For example, a producer in the field has no less than 10 varieties per hectare, more or less. However, this is a challenge because not all varieties are good, so they plant the varieties that are best for the market. In the north it is different, they have around five varieties.”
«New plantations are now being made with self-fertile varieties that allow for quite large sizes, because supermarkets want a large, sweet and well-coloured fruit.»
What are the main export markets?
«Southern Italy's crops, which are very important, go to France, Germany and northern European countries. A smaller share goes to Arab countries, which find Italian produce very good. In the north, part of the production is destined for the Italian domestic market and for countries such as Austria and markets in eastern Europe. But, in general terms, the destination of cherries is the foreign market. In Italy, not many cherries are consumed compared to Germany, or countries in northern and central Europe.»
Considering that Chile is the world's leading exporter of cherries, does Italy view the South American country as a reference or with any particular interest?
«In Italy they are very interested in growing cherries with varieties that are in Chile and that are also self-fertile. Because the problem we have is that many of our varieties are self-sterile, so we have production problems. Chilean producers have varieties that I think are very interesting for the market, to do a 'restyling' of production in the south and north of Italy.»
Chile is also looking for new varieties of cherry and, for example, Italy has varieties that require fewer hours of cold…
«Yes, but this is a challenge. In the last 10 years, the number of hours of cold has dropped dramatically. For example, this year we do not have the possibility of achieving good flowering because the amount of cold was very low. So, either we find a new variety that has a low need for cold or we have to use dormancy breakers, only for Europe there are no authorised dormancy breakers yet. We have dormancy breakers that are fertilisers, but they do not always have a good function. That is why we are looking for a new variety that could be interesting for the market and also for its agronomic characteristics.»
