In Apulia, frost puts 70 per cent of cherry production at risk

Puglia risks a 70% collapse in cherry production this year. The alarm comes from Coldiretti, according to which, because of the March and April frosts, harvests are set to collapse, in some areas by as much as 100%. This is a problem that will have repercussions at a national level: in fact, Apulia is the largest producer of cherries in Italy, with 18 thousand hectares of orchards worth 30% of the Italian harvest. The trees are almost all concentrated in the province of Bari, which alone has 17,230 hectares in production.

The growers' association is calling for a state of calamity, but also for strict controls because on the market stalls 'cherries whose origin must be verified, sold in Milan for up to EUR 23.3 per kilogram, are standing out'. The varieties hardest hit by the frost are not only the first fruits, such as the Georgia and Bigarreau cherries: it was the prized Ferrovia cherries that suffered the worst effects of the drop in temperature that burnt the blossoms. "The risk," warns Coldiretti, "is that the market will be invaded by foreign products without the consumer knowing. Unfair imports must be stopped and the principle of reciprocity must be introduced, so that all products entering the Union respect the same standards in terms of environment, health and respect for labour regulations as those in the internal market". The reference is in particular to cherries from North African countries such as Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco.

In addition to the sharp drop in production, Apulian farmers have to deal with the jump in production costs and the severe drought. "These price increases," Coldiretti Puglia writes, "are not matched by adequate producer prices, not to mention that food inflation is slowing down consumption and forcing families to cut back on purchases.

Last year, too, the national cherry production was ravaged by bad weather. In June, hail had struck the northern Italian regions with violence, damaging fruit trees in Veneto. While in Emilia Romagna, overflowing rivers had destroyed several orchards, including cherries.