Reports from Italy suggest the country could be 'closer than ever before' to securing access to the US for its apple and pear exports, a move which would open up one of the world's major consumer markets to one of its largest individual sources of the two products.
Italian marketing agency Centro Servizi Ortofrutticoli and national apple association Assomela are understood to be working on behalf of the country's pear and apple exporters respectively in order to secure access, holding high-level talks with US officials aimed at removing strict phytosanitary barriers that have blocked Italy's path until now.
According to the two groups, an American inspector is due to arrive in Italy during the coming days to visit key players in the Italian apple and pear supply chain before filing a report based on their findings.
At this point, it is expected that both US and Italian trade officials will attempt to draw up a plan of action aimed at eventually granting the Mediterranean country's topfruit access, possibly as early as the coming season.
'Since the start of the year, relations between Italy and the US on this matter have strengthened a lot and this is thanks to the hard work put in by the Minister of Agriculture and in particular ex-minister Mario Catania,' a spokesperson for the CSO commented.
However, one source told Eurofruit that nothing should yet be taken for granted when it came to resolving an issue that has been a major sticking point between the two countries for a long time.
'I cannot see this happening any time soon,' he said. 'The US is expecting a bumper crop in 2013/14, with Washington state likely to see another 130m-carton harvest and production in the east of the country probably rebounding too.'
Yet the prospect of marketing Italian apples to around 300m consumers in the US, especially to what remains a sizeable concentration of consumers with Italian heritage, is an undeniably tantalising one.
Piedmont-based exporter Marco Rivoira told Corriere Ortofrutticolo: 'If this agreement really was reached, it would be almost unbelievable. We've been pushing and waiting for this moment for years.'
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