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Italian table grape companies Orchidea Frutta and the Salvi Group are well positioned to respond to rising domestic and international demand for seedless varieties, after being added to Sun World Innovations’ list of licensees.

While the bulk of Italian table grape production currently lies in seeded varieties, the move towards seedless offerings could deliver strong economic windfall, according to Garth Swinburn, Sun World’s vice president of licensing.

“We are pleased to appoint these fine companies, to help bolster our presence in the global fruit trade,” Swinburn said. “We’re confident that providing further access to our seedless proprietary varieties will allow producers to maximise their revenues while increasing the seedless grape volume in Italy and the visibility of our varietal brands.”

Orchidea Frutta, based in Rutigliano, specialises in the production and distribution of table grapes, cherries, citrus, peaches, nectarines, apricots and artichokes. The company also manages a 350ha vineyard.

Salvi Group is a vertically-integrated nursery-producer-importer-exporter based in Ferrara. With operations spread across Italy, France, and Poland, Salvi supplies 60 countries on five continents with its produce. Its grape production takes place in the city of Rutigliano, supplying grapes from July-November.

The two new licensees join more than 70 licensed Sun World marketers around the world.