Exporters in Italy are hoping that the first ever promotional push for their country's signature pear variety Abate Fetel in the US will come to be seen as the start of a golden age in the history of Italian produce sales to North America.
Last September, the US Department of Agriculture's Aphis division finally gave the green light to a new protocol agreement for a controlled import programme for Abate Fetel grown in Emilia-Romagna, based on inspections they had carried in the province back in the summer.
Taking home a wealth of information on the suitability, productivity, quality and reliability of specific producer organisations, Aphis was also able to push through a similar protocol for Golden Delicious, Royal Gala and Granny Smith apples grown in Trentino, although exporters are understood to be biding their time before commencing their first significant shipments.
According to representatives of CSO and Assomela, the Italian industry organisations which led negotiations with the USDA, a limited volume of Abate Fetel will be shipped to customers in major cities along the East Coast.
The variety is Italy's most commonly produced pear but also practically unique within the topfruit category, a point of difference that CSO's government-backed and EU-funded project European Flavors will accentuate in promoting it to American buyers.
At the end of January, the group was due accompany a delegation of pear industry representatives on a visit to Delaware and New York. On the agenda were two special events in support of the pear's arrival in the US: a presentation to managers at leading retailer ShopRite, followed by a business lunch for East Coast importers and buyers hosted by leading chef PJ Calapa at the Ai Fiori restaurant in New York.
Among the group visiting the US will be members of leading export companies Alegra and Apofruit, as well as the new consortium Pera Italia. 'The mission to the USA will not only emphasise the opening of America's frontiers but also and above all push to boost relations with commercial partners and create new connections with areas of the country that have not yet been able to taste Italian pears, and especially the prestigious Abate Fetel variety,' said a spokesperson.
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