Milk, Progetto Natura cooperative grows again in Ragusa

A production value of just over 36 million with an increase of 11.6% compared to 2023 and a profit of 17,846 euro. These are the salient figures of the 2024 balance sheet of the Ragusa-based Progetto Natura cooperative, which, with its 123 farmer-members, is considered the largest Sicilian cooperative for milk collection: it is the reference partner of the "Natura e Qualità" company, which owns the "Ragusa Latte" brand. For the second consecutive year, the cooperative presents a growing balance sheet: last year, the production value was 32 million, an increase of 12.2 per cent over the previous year.

With more than 49 million litres of cow's milk marketed - representing almost 25 per cent of the entire Sicilian production - and 122,551 kilograms of Ragusano DOP cheese produced, 'the Progetto Natura cooperative confirms itself as the market leader in Sicily's dairy chain of excellence,' says director Salvatore Cascone. On the milk collection front, the cooperative has also grown: from 45.5 million milk in 2023 to 49 million in 2024, an increase of 7.6 per cent. "The cooperative's strength is also reflected in a varied and structured production capacity," explain the company: more than one million litres of sheep's milk collected, 466,427 kilograms of cheese marketed and 2,471,136 litres of cow's milk specifically destined for the production of Ragusano DOP. "The remaining litres of cow's milk were sold with the 'High Quality' qualification, within a supply chain controlled and certified according to the ISO 22005 standard, as well as with the Cremba label for animal welfare. Numbers that tell and confirm not only a market leadership, but also an economic solidity," adds Cascone.

In the past few weeks, the members' assembly gave the go-ahead to the three-year development plan, which envisages more than EUR 6 million in investments along the entire supply chain, 'with a view to sustainable and participatory growth,' says president Giovanni Campo. 'The re-launch strategy also includes new product lines: new products will soon be launched on the market, through the 'Natura e Qualità' affiliate, under the Ragusa Latte brand, with the Qualità Sicura (QS) certified brand, destined for the main large-scale distribution channels. In the 2025 development plan there are two projects financed with funds from the Rural Development Plan (Psr) and the Integrated Production Chain Project (Pif): 'In the first three months of the year,' says Cascone, 'positive results have already emerged, reinforced by a communication and promotion plan for Ragusano Dop, financed with Psr measure 3.2.

The Progetto Natura co-operative is in fact the spearhead of a widespread system of companies in the sector to which Corfilac (the Consortium for Research in the Dairy and Agro-Food Sector) has contributed over the years. According to its president Cinzia Caggia, "Corfilac has distinguished itself over the years for the transfer of research results to the players in the dairy chain. And it intends to persevere in this mission, developing projects, research and training courses. There is a need for unity, there is a need to 'think high', but there is also and above all a need to keep one's feet on the ground and help the dairy chain to disentangle itself in the complex world of the market'.

According to data recently released by Confcooperative Ragusa, there are at least a hundred companies and cooperatives in the area that process milk into products of excellence, of which Ragusano DOP is the best known. These are some of the key figures of the Ragusa dairy sector: over 80% of the companies process cow, sheep and goat milk to produce typical cheeses and derivatives; furthermore, 40% of the milk produced is processed directly in Sicily, while the rest is marketed outside the region. 'The dairy sector in the province of Ragusa,' explains the territorial president of Confcooperative Ragusa, Luca Campisi, 'has a long tradition and continues to be one of the pillars of the Sicilian agri-food industry. The sector employs thousands of workers, including breeders, cheesemakers, and operators in the supply chain, guaranteeing a significant economic spin-off for our territory'. Demand for Sicilian dairy products is growing, especially abroad, but current exports are still less than 10% of total production. A share that is still too low and below the average of Sicilian agrifood exports: 'The road to foreign markets, without the contribution of a solid industrial and distribution system, is difficult,' explained Preometeia's experts at the recent UniCredit Economies Forum held in Ragusa. The share of exported production for the entire agrifood supply chain stops at 15% precisely because of the predominance of agricultural products, which by their very nature have limited export possibilities and for the most part can only access neighbouring markets (over 95% of agricultural production exports are destined for Europe)'.