Conserve Italia closes balance sheet at 1.2 billion

The balance sheet of Conserve Italia, the consortium that unites 36 cooperatives and owns the Valfrutta, Cirio, Yoga, Derby Blue and Jolly Colombani brands, closes at EUR 1.2 billion. Compared to the financial year 2022-2023, this is a growth of 5%. Profit is EUR 12.3 million. Sales increased both in value and volume in the domestic large-scale retail market as well as in the Horeca and foodservice channels. Sales abroad also increased, driven in particular by the Cirio brand, accounting for 47% of the group's exports.

Last year Conserve Italia processed 518,284 tonnes of fruit, tomatoes, pulses and cereals grown on almost 14 thousand hectares in Italy. "To the farmer members," recalled the president, Maurizio Gardini, who was reconfirmed for another three years, "in the last financial year we disbursed more than 100 million euros in liquidations for the productions conferred, fundamental resources for the maintenance of thousands of farms. Resources that help redistribute wealth in the territories. In addition, we have implemented premium payments in the tomato sector by incentivising ethical certifications of farms, we have increased the quotations of all crops, and we have committed ourselves to withdrawing more fruit than planned in the summer of 2024 in order to avoid an oversupply in the fresh market.

The three-year EUR 86.6 million investment plan, currently underway, has already led to the installation in all plants of new, more energy-efficient machinery and the use of renewables. "In the 2024-2025 financial year," explained General Manager Pier Paolo Rosetti, "we will focus on our main plant, the one in Pomposa in the lower Ferrarese region, where a new tomato concentrator has recently been installed and a second one will be implemented, as well as the automated warehouse.