"Quantities, which are limited at the moment (10-15% of the total volume), are destined to the internal market. We will start with 4-6 pallets, which will help us understand on what base to start exports according to their impact on the market. In the last few years, we have dedicated ourselves to exports, which now represent 75% of our turnover."
The company was funded in 1996. Giovanni Bellassai (Lorenzo's father) has been working in this sector for almost fifty years and collects produce from more than a hundred producers.
Black Magic grapes, to be harvested from Tuesday (14th May 2013).
"We're lucky, as we have an early season: early produce is sought-after and it represents our strong point. Abroad, we work a lot with Belgium, the Netherlands, Russia, Czech Republic, Poland and Arab Emirates. In general though, our main market outside the EU is Russia, which gives us great satisfaction in short periods of time. I have to admit in fact that great distances do worry me."
Victoria grapes, to be harvested from Tuesday (14th May 2013).
"We go by road to Russia, using trucks. For other destinations outside the EU we use containers that are shipped by sea. The Russian market is much sought after because people buy grapes from different parts of the world the whole year round - at the moment, Indian, South African and some Chilean produce is available. The season in Egypt and Israel starts just as ours does and, at the peak of our campaign, grapes from Turkey and Moldavia are also available, which are cheaper. We are not alone, in fact, we always have to compete with other countries which manage to have good prices for a number of reasons e.g. lower production prices or geographical position."
The main difficulty for exporters is competition, confirms Lorenzo. "I came back from the Netherlands two weeks ago and in warehouses there was enough grapes from South Africa, India and Chile to last for two months. I hope that stocks sell out soon."
Black Magic grapes, to be harvested from Tuesday (14th May 2013).
"Expectations as to how and when other countries will end the campaign are shared. The market is easily influenced, from weather as well as from demand. Despite the fact that there have been better years, volumes are very good and the quality of greenhouse produce (from now until the end of June-beginning of July) is excellent."
Victoria grapes, to be harvested from Tuesday (14th May 2013).
The main part of the produce is sold fresh in wooden or cardboard 7 kg crates. The company specialises only in table grapes for 7 months a year - last year, 4,000 tons of produce have been sold. "We are growing: since I started dealing with sales 5 years ago, we have converted to exports. I took part in international trade fairs and I have expanded our business relations - the consumption crisis in Italy and the excessive power of mass retailers led us to this, it made us go outside our country looking for direct clients."
In Italy, the company operates from Fondi upwards. "My father always worked on the internal market, our reference points are Padua and Verona, but we also operate on smaller markets, even though of course the satisfaction is rather different from that of the big European markets."
Black Magic grapes, to be harvested from Tuesday (14th May 2013).
Despite being afraid of long distances, Lorenzo has a passion for Asia. "During some trade fairs, I have met some operators from Thailand, China and India. These are huge countries, and therefore excellent potential buyers, but the over 30 days of shipping do worry me: this is the challenge I wish to tackle with the right grapes and the suitable quality!"
Once the greenhouse campaign is over, the one of the produce under tarpaulins starts (first ten days of July) and, from the end of July, the one of grapes in open fields will. The main early varieties are Victoria and Black Magic, and from August there's Italia, Red Globe and Palieri which, weather permitting, will take all the way through to December."
Victoria grapes, to be harvested from Tuesday (14th May 2013).
"Unfortunately, we don't have many seedless grapes. Sicilian producers did not believe in the development of seedless varieties like Puglia did. This is a problem for us, as in the last few years they are the ones mostly popular abroad. I don't know the reason behind it, it might be because they are not very productive, or because those who tried in the past did not reach satisfactory prices, but this could be a great limit for our territory."
Victoria grapes, to be harvested from Tuesday (14th May 2013).
"Unfortunately, we don't have many seedless grapes. Sicilian producers did not believe in the development of seedless varieties like Puglia did. This is a problem for us, as in the last few years they are the ones mostly popular abroad. I don't know the reason behind it, it might be because they are not very productive, or because those who tried in the past did not reach satisfactory prices, but this could be a great limit for our territory."
