History of Alpe
The ALPE fruit and vegetable cooperative was founded on 13 May 1980. This foundation led to a big boom in fruit and vegetable growing in and around the municipality of Lasa.
Due to optimal climatic conditions and the composition of the ground (900 – 1,200 m above sea level) the Upper Val Venosta has become one of Italy’s most important cultivation areas for cauliflower. In addition to cauliflower, the farmers also cultivate other vegetable varieties such as Iceberg lettuce, radicchio trevisano, white cabbage, celery and leek as well as strawberries and cherries.
The relatively young field of fruit growing has also developed positively. The most important variety is Golden Delicious which here finds the ideal climatic conditions for its typical red cheek, its elongated form and the inner values. It is therefore predestined for this cultivation area.
Due to its altitude the area also offers best conditions for Jonagold apples characterized by a nice colour, an extremely high pressure resistance and an optimal sugar/acid ratio. The assortment is rounded off with Stark Delicious, Elstar, Gala, Idared and Pinova.
In 1997, the ALPE and OVEG cooperatives started a long-term cooperation because of market strategic and business reasons: both cooperatives show similar general conditions (homogenous, adjacent cultivation areas, mixed cooperatives for fruit and vegetables, high growth potential and the same fruit and vegetable assortment).
The total cultivation area of both cooperatives, which is further expandable, is 800 ha and stretches from the high plateau and the sunny hills of Lasa to Sluderno and Glorenza. More than 300 members produce fruit, vegetables and berries nearly exclusively according to the guidelines of integrated production. Furthermore, the majority of fruit production follows the EurepGAP guidelines.
All fruit is processed by ALPE. Moreover, ALPE is responsible for the commercialization of all fruit, vegetables and berries.
