One of Italy's largest apple exporters, La Trentina, has reportedly been informed that its largest supplier cooperative Società Frutticoltori Trento (SFT) is determined to leave the consortium.
Shareholders in SFT, which produces around 40 per cent of the approximately 100,000 tonnes of apples marketed by La Trentina each year, are understood to have voted on the proposed earlier this year and are believed now to beplanning to launch a producer organisation of their own, called Valle Trentini.
According to a report at the start of this year in local newspaper L'Adige, the decision was prompted by a fundamental disagreement between SFT and La Trentina over a new accounting method introduced recently to calculate payments back to the consortium's five member cooperatives.
The newspaper quoted SFT as claiming to have lost 'almost €2m' apparently as a result of the change in procedure.
SFT brings together approximately 700 individual member growers farming a combined production area of around 650ha.
It remains unclear whether or not the cooperative will continue to sell its kiwifruit, pears and plums through La Trentina.
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