Paimfrut Soc.Coop.

Paimfrut s.r.l. has been established in October 2004 by the initiative of ten citrus and horticultural producers, in order to pool their production for a marketing more suited to the new needs of national and international markets, which, in addition to quality, demand greater transparency in the chain that agricultural products from farm production to the table of consumers follow up.

The property is served by a processing plant, equipped with more lines for citrus fruits and vegetables and plants for cold storage of the product in the Piana di Catania.

Currently 59 members are joined with the company, they are located in the provinces of Catania, Siracusa, Enna and Messina, with a total area of Ha336 Ha., divided into oranges, Satsuma, Mandarins, Clementines and Lemons.

Paimfrut is located in an area particularly active in the agricultural and foodfarming sector, given that it falls within the context of the Catania production division characterized by a high concentration of vegetable and citrus production with the advantage of being in the citrus fruits markets from September to June through the use of early and late varieties and a wide range of cultivars enriched in particular by the pigmented varieties of the PGI Sicilian Blood Orange, recognized by the EU under EC Reg No 2082/91, which are particularly appreciated in domestic and foreign markets.

Therefore, the cultivation specilization of the farm is purely citrus-oriented, for production destined for fresh consumption, and to a lesser extent, with horticultural production in open field and protected crops.

The goal is to broaden the range of products by making reference, in addition to the core business represented by citrus,to other fruit and vegetable productions such as cherry and grape tomatoes, artichokes, aubergines, peppers, courgettes, cauliflower, watermelons, melons, prickly pears, grapes, peaches and nectarines.

The overall objective to be achieved is to guide member-producers in the evolution and innovation of cultivation techniques and to act as supporter of information to raise the production sensitivness to environmental issues.

Likewise, product certification is granted in order to arrange a system of traceability able to ensure the product's origin for the consumer.

In this perspective, Paimfrut has already achieved the GlobalGap (Good Agricultural Practices) certification, likely to provide an added value to the productions.

Thanks to this instrument, Paimfrut can attest fairly and unambiguously the characteristics and specificity of a product and inform potential customers, together with endorsement and guarantee of an impartial third party that will also checks the veracity of the claims.