The Sicilian blood orange harvest has started
Italy
Monday 04 January 2021
Italian consumers were able to appreciate Sicilian blood oranges from Christmas on (Photo: tutelaaranciarossa.it).
Fruit of excellent quality for this new season which has just started. Arancia Rossa di Sicilia consortium plans to double certified plantations by 2025.
The harvest has officially started with the Moro variety. Then from January 2, the Tarocco variety and the Sanguinello variety in the second half of February. According to professionals, the fruits tend to be smaller due to the particularly hot weather conditions this summer.
The Arancia Rossa di Sicilia consortium has 45,000 hectares planted with blood oranges. It has 450 members, including 70 packers. The 2020 season ended with 26,000 tonnes of Arancia Rossa IGP marketed against 19,000 tonnes in 2019 and 17,200 tonnes in 2018.
“Many of our producers have planted new crops, but it takes at least 5 years for a citrus plantation to become productive. A significant period of time which, at the end of the process, should allow the area of certified plantations to double by 2025 "underlined Giovanni Selvaggi, President of the Arancia Rossa IGP consortium.
source : corrieretneo.it