Pachino tomato to expand export operations

Pach.Ita is the name of the new Italian brand created to promote and market the best of Sicilian PGI Pomodoro de Pachino, in its Ciliegino and Marinda tomato varieties. Whereas Europe is its main market, with Germany, the UK and France the front-runners, Pach.Ita now has new international markets in its sights.

“We are really interested in expanding our horizons and reaching out to overseas markets. We hope to crack the United Arab Emirates market soon, as we can provide the quality they are seeking,” said sales manager Giuseppe Faille.

He also expressed the company’s high expectations for the new treaty, set to open up the doors for Italian tomato exports into Canada and soon, perhaps, also to the United States.

Launched in 2015, the Pach.Ita brand brings added value to the top-quality segment grown in Sicily. One of the brand aims is to bolster customer loyalty through a high-value product, creating balance between quality and quantity. To this end, this new consortium is trading the volumes supplied by the five main Italian firms cultivating Pachino tomato in Sicily in the international market. The companies are PEF, Terre di Capo Passero, G.S.G Sipione, Fortunato and OP Faro. Together, they make up 6,000 tons, which is equivalent to more than 30% of the PGI’s total production output.

Thanks to the most advanced quality protocols applied to the tomato crop, Sicilian brand Pach.Ita guarantees optimum produce in its two product lines: TOP TASTE and PREMIUM. There are two main varieties traded under the brand. On one hand, the traditional CILIEGINO: the cocktail tomato cherry on the vine that has brought international prestige to the Sicilian PGI for its exquisite flavour. The other variety is MARINDA: a crunchy, aromatic salad tomato that can be ripened à la carte in 3 levels (green, 2-tone or red) as per customer requirements.