Consorzio Melinda, the largest supplier of apples to Italy's domestic market, has signed an agreement to produce and sell the trademarked apple variety Evelina.
After almost two months of negotiations, the company finally secured a deal towards the beginning of July with marketer Evelina and its import-export partner Agrosun, both of which are based in Bolzano.
Arno überbacher, managing director of Evelina, made no secret of his delight that Trentino-based Melinda, one of the leading apple producers in Europe, had decided to work with his company and develop sales of its branded fruit.
The deal will see Evelina apples marketed alongside Melinda's own famous label for the first time on the Italian market, having already made its debut as an organic-only apple grown in the South Tyrol region of north=eastern Italy.
The fruit is also produced and sold in Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Slovakia and the UK, while Evelina is also conducting trials in the US in partnership with leading marketer Stemilt.
Investigations into the potential for expanding production into Chile and Argentina are also underway.
Melinda director Luca Granata said he saw the agreement as 'an important step for the company, making it possible to extend the product range with a really good type of apple'.
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