A new Italian-Cypriot fruit association has been formed to strengthen its members’ presence on international markets.

Medifruit is a transnational grouping of AOP, an organisation of agricultural producers of Fi.Op of San Benedetto del Tronto (€20 million turnover) and Orizontas Producers Organisation. Which has a combined €1.5m turnover generated by 100 producers citrus and grapefruits in the Limassol area of Cyprus..

The objective is to reach, within the next three years, a total turnover of €100m by adding other new producer organisations and strengthening the presence of partners in the UK, euro-zone countries, North Africa and America. Fi.Op managing director and new Medifruit chairman Leo Bollettini said: "With this transnational agreement we will be able to compete better on the market both in terms of greater access possibilities to EU funding to accomplish common projects, and in penetrating markets due to the complementariness of our products. Globalisation should not be suffered but ridden, and this agreement is a great example of how this can be done."

Medifruit’s headquarters will be in San Benedetto del Tronto.