Access to the US apple and pear market has been extended to new parts of Italy including Piedmont, following last year’s successful trial on fruit shipped from the regions of Trentino-South Tyrol and Emilia-Romagna.
Around 30 containers of Italian apples are expected to reach the US this season. Inspectors from US agency Aphis have reportedly completed phytosanitary checks on the first consignments, part of what is only the European supplier’s second-ever topfruit export campaign in the country. Checks on planned pear shipments are due to take place in mid-October.
Italian organisation CSO revealed that the first containers of apples departed on 11 September, with all parties involved in the exercise – including 20 US inspectors, sector association Assomela, CSO, the Italian government, Italy’s ambassador in Washington DC and a number of local service providers in north-west Italy – said to be buoyed by the good co-operation seen in successfully bringing the shipments through a cold treatment process and other aspects of an entry protocol agreed in September last year.
According to CSO, last year’s pilot project was so successful that certain aspects of the protocol, such as in-field checks and storage phases, have in fact been simplified this time around.
Treading carefully
It’s clear that the Italian topfruit sector is playing it safe when it comes to quality for fear of rushing headlong into a market that has eluded it for many years.
As a result, those organisations co-ordinating the new trade have taken the decision to focus on certain key varieties sourced from integrated production, namely Abate Fetel pears grown in Emilia-Romagna and Gala, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith and Fuji apples from Trentino-South Tyrol and Piedmont.
The exporters involved are Melinda, La Trentina, Vog (Marlene) and Vip (Val Venosta) – all of which market their fruit to the US via the From consortium, as well as Mezzacorona in Trentino-South Tyrol.
In Emilia-Romagna, there are now a total of 12 companies permitted to send fruit to the US under the topfruit protocol, compared with six last year. These are: Apofruit Italia, Cipof, Fruit Modena Group, Granfrutta Zani, Ital-Frutta, Mazzoni, Opera, Orogel Fresco, Patfruit, Salvi Unacoa and Sistema Frutta.
In Piedmont, meanwhile, Lagnasco Group has been granted permission to begin shipping apples.
Assomela director Alessandro Dalpiaz underlined the importance of teamwork in the project’s continued success.
“The second year’s work, which is expected to see around 30 containers of apples shipped, is predominately aimed at evaluating more closely the effective potential of the US market, to understand better its mechanisms and the margins of profitability that this project can offer.”
CSO’s Simona Rubbi, also a key player in removing US trade barriers to Italian topfruit, commented: “The objective of this marketing campaign is to maintain an extremely high standard and to not detract from the results obtained last year, rather to improve on them.
“For this reason in particular, it’s necessary more than ever to have larger planned volumes and shipments in order to simplify and optimise the cost of the US inspectors’ checks, which are covered fully by the participating companies.”
