"We are handling approximately the same amount of produce as in 2012, even though there is a downward trend with regard to prices and demand, almost certainly due to the crisis in Italy and Europe," reports Giuseppe Libretti, sales manager of the Sicilian group located in Vittoria.
"There's competition coming from abroad, but we aim at a produce with excellent quality and we have also introduced some new varieties."
Libretti is a leading company in the root vegetables and open field sectors. The produce is cultivated on 1,200 private and third party acres, divided into greenhouses (617 acres), tunnels (370 acres) and open field (247 acres). It is mainly made up of vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, cucumbers, courgettes, melons, watermelons and potatoes) and, to a lesser extent, of fruit (table grapes and citrus fruits) for a total production of approximately 140,000 tons, enabling Libretti to work constantly all year round.
80% of the produce is distributed in national mass retailing, whereas the remaining 20% is exported in Germany, Austria and Poland.
Giuseppe Libretti in the company stand at Fruit Logistica.
"The campaign is facing some difficulties due to the harsh temperatures during January and February. In addition to this, from a qualitative point of view, the amount of humidity in the last few months caused problems in terms of moulds and durability," continues Giuseppe.
"As regards innovation, we are now cultivating a number of new varieties: Ventero and Tyonic, long-life bunch tomatoes with 5/6 big deep red fruits; Cikito date tomatoes and Shiren cherry tomatoes; Oscar, a new exceptional San Marzano bunch tomato and black Camone tomatoes, very interesting as a niche product."
"Furthermore, as we are the main producers of cherry tomatoes in Sicily, we have started the production of sauces and purées made 100% of cherry tomatoes under the new "Bottega di Sicilia" brand. We have been providing the main supply chains with 100% cherry tomato sauces for the past two years. There is no other company that does that at the moment. The demand for our products is also coming increasingly from overseas, Australia, Japan, China and America are all very interested."
Tyonic.
"In the future, the main challenges will concern the innovation of the production systems to supply top quality products at the right price and with excellent organoleptic qualities, in order to differentiate us from the Maghrebi competition. The future is yet unknown, but what is certain is that only the companies that concentrate on innovation and quality will resist," concludes Giuseppe Libretti.
Contacts:
Libretti Srl
Giuseppe Libretti
C.da Rinelli
97019 Vittoria (Ragusa)
Tel.: (+39) 0932 861635
Fax: (+39) 0932 867257
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.librettisrl.com
