The Sicilian season for canary yellow melons growing in the open fields is just about to begin, and things look good. Azienda Agricola Altamore which is situated at Roccamena (PA) located in Roccamena (PA) and run by Franco Altamone with his son Giuseppe is among the most renowned producers of the sector in Western Sicily thanks to its 100 hectares of land. The fields are situated within Mazara del Vallo (TP) to harvest the first crop beginning in June and Roccamena to harvest the crops in the month of August. The last season of harvesting begins the beginning of September, and finishes at the end of October in Corleone (PA).
Franco and Giuseppe Altamore.
“We are able to complete the whole calendar due to our agricultural practices that span from the sea all the way up to the mountains. This year’s production has been satisfactory even though we’re facing a couple of drought issues! Our particular case is one that we are able to manage due to our irrigation systems that are specialized but many other companies in the area do not have transplanted their systems the system, and several others may face an increase of 50% in production.” the report by Franco and Giuseppe Altamore.
“We chose the Cartago variant for the initial campaign, and then the Giorillo version for the final campaign. We are confident that we can verify that the estimated amount is around 500 tons that will be sold on large and domestic wholesale markets as well as the retailers. Additionally, around 20 percent of the product will go to German large retailer.”
“Our fruit weighs between 1.2 between 1.2 and 3.5 kilograms. The smaller ones will go mostly to the major retailers, whereas those with larger sizes will be sent to wholesale markets. The three main types of containers which are: 60x40x19 (6 fruits) that weigh around 18kg per an average. 60x40x17 (6-7-8-9-11 fruits) which has the average weight of 16 kg. 50x30x17 (4-5-6 fruits) and the average weight being around 10 kilograms. We can thus fulfill the vast majority of requirements in the commercial market.”
The logo of the company is designed with “quality and heritage since 1900” which is not a coincidence since the business is now in its fourth generation under Giuseppe Altamore (a recently graduated Agricultural Science graduate).
“At this point, however it’s still not yet too late to discuss open field prices. In terms of greenhouse production there are some that exceed EUR1/kg. However, this doesn’t apply for us as we’re just beginning. We can tell you that last year the campaign was successful, by delivering an average of EUR0.70/kg over the course of the campaign.”
“Sales prospects are optimistic this year due to the fact that the crop is not as productive. Certain companies didn’t transplant because of the shortage of water. Other companies are expected to have low yields. Therefore, the ones that have enough can sell them for a reasonable cost.”
To increase its revenue, Azienda Altamore focuses on the creation of a craft beer using Canary yellow melons to recycle production waste.
More information is available here: 
Azienda Agricola Altamore
Via E. Mattei 14
9040 Roccamena (PA) (PA) 90040 Italy
+39 327 9047936
[email protected]