The situation regarding blackberries in Trieste's (Italy) supermarkets remains challenging, with high prices leading to low turnover and substandard quality.
For blueberries and raspberries, prices are declining (although they do not fully reflect general market trends, which are generally lower), resulting in increased turnover.
The quality of blueberries and raspberries is good. Blueberries primarily originate from Peru, with some from South Africa, while raspberries are sourced from Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Morocco.
This summary is based on observations made today, November 19, 2024, in the urban area of Trieste, covering 18 sales points from 18 retail chains belonging to 12 organized retail groups.
Sales Points and Assortments
The sales points monitored included the following retailers: Aldi, Cadoro, Conad, Conad City, Coop, Crai, Despar, Dpiù, Eurospar, Eurospin, Famila, IN’s, Ipercoop, Lidl, MD, Pam, and Pam Local. At the time of the survey, berries were not available in Maxì.
Assortment
The surveyed stores offered between 1 and 6 product references, with an average of 3.3 references per store.
Among the 17 stores that stocked berries, 82% included raspberries in their assortment, 100% had blueberries, 59% had blackberries, 29% carried red currants, and 18% offered mixed berry packs.
Range Width
Among the stores stocking berries, 12% offered only one reference, 41% stocked two or three references, and 47% carried four or more references.
Product Quality
Quality, assessed based on the health of the product, was measured in terms of:
- Absence of significant defects.
- Healthy products in less-than-ideal conditions (e.g., not fresh, wilted, shriveled, dull, lacking bloom).
- Presence of damaged fruits or leaking juice.
- Presence of spoiled fruits or mold.
The groups with the best quality products were Aldi and Lidl.
Prices
- Raspberries (15 observations): Min. €14/kg, Max. €36.00/kg, Avg. €22.1/kg.
- Blueberries (23 observations): Min. €11.96/kg, Max. €28.8/kg, Avg. €17.71/kg.
- Blackberries (10 observations): Min. €23.84/kg, Max. €32.00/kg, Avg. €28.15/kg.
- Red Currants (5 observations): Min. €22.32/kg, Max. €23.92/kg, Avg. €23.41/kg.
- Mixed Berries (3 observations): Min. €19.93/kg, Max. €27.93/kg, Avg. €23.71/kg.
Overall (56 observations): Min. €11.96/kg, Max. €36.00/kg, Avg. €21.58/kg.
| Retailer | Two-pack | Raspberries | Blueberries | Blackberries | Red currants | Three-pack | Total |
| Crai | 36,00 | 28,80 | 32,40 | ||||
| Conad City | 23,60 | 20,46 | 28,72 | 27,93 | 25,18 | ||
| Cadoro | 23,92 | 20,72 | 30,32 | 24,99 | |||
| Coop | 24,90 | 23,84 | 23,84 | 23,84 | 23,84 | 24,05 | |
| Eurospin | 23,92 | 19,94 | 27,92 | 23,93 | |||
| Conad | 21,20 | 19,92 | 27,92 | 23,01 | |||
| Ipercoop | 24,90 | 23,84 | 15,92 | 23,84 | 23,84 | 22,47 | |
| Eurospar | 23,92 | 11,96 | 27,92 | 23,92 | 23,27 | 22,20 | |
| Pam Local | 17,50 | 20,00 | 17,98 | 32,00 | 21,87 | ||
| Pam | 14,95 | 23,92 | 17,14 | 30,32 | 22,32 | 21,73 | |
| Famila | 19,12 | 15,92 | 28,72 | 23,12 | 19,93 | 21,36 | |
| Lidl | 15,47 | 15,47 | |||||
| Aldi | 15,44 | 15,44 | |||||
| IN's | 15,12 | 15,12 | |||||
| MD | 14,32 | 14,32 | 14,32 | ||||
| Dpiù | 14,00 | 14,00 | 14,00 | ||||
| Despar | 13,98 | 13,98 |
Brands
Berries from a total of 16 brands were available in the surveyed stores. The brand with the highest average prices across the category was Pam. For blueberries, the brand with the lowest average prices was Camposol, followed by Lovita.
Packaging
For blueberries, 52% of the references were sold in packages with a net weight of 125 grams.
