As the "cherry spring" draws to a close, the first Cherry Day organized by the Alegra Group in Vignola (Modena) sent a clear message: the 2025 cherry season is one to remember. With 2,500 tons harvested and delivered fresh, without storage delays, the outcome speaks for itself: a success built more on care and innovation than luck.
“Right” is the word that connects the comments of two farmers in the cherry orchard, foreshadowing the speeches at the Castelfranco Emilia warehouse: 2,500 tons for Italy’s third favorite fruit. Alegra, with 3,800 members and over 400 hectares of production area, brings together various cooperatives—including Valfrutta and Brio (organic)—into an integrated model: from field to direct sale.
A model that was born almost a century ago, when 'our grandparents had already understood that uniting means doing the good of all', as president Pier Giorgio Lenzarini, a cherry farmer and figurehead of the cooperative, recalls.
High prices—such as €23/kg, which have sparked debate—do not result from speculation, but from real costs. Harvesting, transporting, processing, packaging, and shipping require time, equipment, and specialized labor. Every step matters: “Cherries are among the fruits that require the most labor hours,” emphasizes Lenzarini.
Post-harvest: between quality and employment
Agrintesa’s general manager, Cristian Moretti, highlights a facility employing 300 people in shifts up to 10 p.m., plus numerous pickers, to handle 25–30,000 quintals of cherries. It’s a significant employment impact in Emilia-Romagna, where the Vignola PGI stands out in a national quality landscape that remains fragile.
Only dark, crunchy, and perfectly ripe cherries are selected, thanks to optimal timing and meticulous sorting: they’re not exportable due to their delicacy, but they excel in the local market.
The Alegra supply chain invests in protection: over 40% of cherry orchards are equipped with rain covers and anti-frost fans, to mitigate extreme weather events linked to climate change. From varietal research (large, dark, and resistant varieties) to sizing machines like Unitec’s Cherry Vision, imperfections are removed—including “false friends” damaged by Drosophila—only perfect fruit reaches consumers.
Certified quality and local strategies
The Vignola PGI Cherry Consortium, led by Walter Monari, emphasizes a deliberate focus on quality over volume: orchards planted in 1996, PGI status for 15 years, multifunctional coverings that have reduced insecticide use by 78%, improving both safety and sustainability.
In the warehouse: no overcrowded bins, only light crates, 2 °C washing, and sorting up to 900 quintals per day, for a production process that is intense and meticulous. It’s an industrial approach, but one that serves freshness and consumer experience.
The Vignola Consortium cooperates with the Red Cross in more than 50 squares in Lazio for 'good and solidarity' offers. The Ripa di Sotto fields, 16 hectares of excellence, showcased how the supply chain—also thanks to shared paths with farmers from Piedmont and Calabria—represents an adaptable model. Faced with competition from Greece and Turkey, Alegra chooses quality and market positioning over volume—and the market rewards it.
Alegra’s experience in Vignola shows that even in an uncertain and competitive climate, PGI cherries can thrive by focusing on climate protection, varietal research, technological innovation, and regional cooperation. A forward-looking formula: a quality fruit that unites history and innovation, land and tradition, sustainability and value.
Source: myfruit.it
Image source: Agrintesa
26 Apr 2024
After five bad winters, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food said it announced a historic $70 million investment in March to help farmers by replacing damaged crops by replanting more climate-resistant varieties.
10 Jun 2025
The 2025 Picota cherry season in Spain’s Jerte Valley starts two weeks late, but expectations are high for a medium-to-large harvest with excellent fruit quality. Rain and hail had minimal impact. The UK remains the top export market for the product, followed by Spain.
21 Jan 2026
Cherries consumption in Italy reflects broader FMCG trends, with declining penetration but rising average spending driven by higher prices. Consumers buy smaller quantities per trip yet shop more often, showing loyalty to this premium seasonal fruit despite inflation.
21 Jan 2026
A study in Chile tested ultrasound and nanobubble treatments on “Regina” sweet cherries to improve postharvest quality. The results reveal promising sustainable alternatives to fungicides, preserving freshness during long-distance shipping and storage.
