At this time of year, Sicilian citrus cultivations are in the final stages of fruit growth, before the fruits begin to ripen. We discussed the orange season with Angelo Migliorisi, an agronomist and grower with an acclaimed background in the sector.
"From a climatic point of view, the seasonal trend was marked by a mild winter which has led to poor flowering, but luckily with a sufficient percentage of fruit set. The forecast is for a lower production in terms of overall yield, compared to previous years, but with higher quality and uniformity of size," said the expert.
If the production trend is somewhat predictable on the basis of observation of the citrus groves, minus the weather variable, the same cannot be said of the market. However, there are some elements that may indicate a potential price trend at the beginning of the season. Migliorisi himself predicted a commercial trend with all due caution.
"It is still too early to talk about prices, but it seems that, because of what mentioned before, the lower availability of the product on the plant will lead to higher prices, at least in the early stages of commercialization. Moreover, this is mainly true for the area of Ragusa, where our company Arance Bio di Cava d'Oro operates, located in the valley of the Dirillo river in the territory of Acate. Here, the product, which is cultivated using organic farming methods, benefits from a very special microclimate and alluvial soil, rich in nutrients for our citrus fruits".
The high fertility of the land is largely due to the flooding of the river and "produces citrus fruits characterized by a higher sugar content in relation to the acid content."
"The organoleptic characteristics of the fruit have encouraged our company to also test the marketing of products transformed into extra jams with only 30% cane sugar and the remaining part of Navel or Tarocco oranges. The experimentation was carried out in the last campaign with discrete success. We have placed our trust in the cooperative Sprigioniamo sapori which is active within the Casa Circondariale of Ragusa. Those who bought the jams, showed a strong appreciation, not only for the goodness of the product, but also for the social purpose of the initiative.
For more information:
Azienda Arance Bio Cava d'Oro 
Sede Legale
Via Giuseppine, 24
97100 Ragusa
+39 3383810756
ante.migliorisi@alice.it