Due to the drought in Sicily, orange production appears to be set to decrease. "The news we receive from our members", says Confagricoltura Sicilia president Rosario Marchese Ragona, "is not encouraging: we are expecting a 40 to 50 percent reduction. If we continue on this path, all Sicilian agriculture will be gone. Another thing we can disclose, and these are usually estimations, is that 20% of trees have been uprooted precisely because farmers no longer know where to find water". Another concern that should not be overlooked is the value of the oranges produced, which has decreased by more than 50%. This year's product is expected to be smaller and more expensive to make. Sicilian farmers are in full emergency mode: those who have some water suffer exorbitant charges, while others who do not have water struggle to resist. The damage for Sicily's orange sector could be approximately 300 million. "We're in a valley of tears. There is no water", says Edoardo Strano, a Catania entrepreneur who owns a hundred hectares of citrus groves in the Plain of Catania and makes Amaro Amara from blood oranges he grows himself: "I am fortunate because I have wells, but the situation is catastrophic practically everywhere. In this scenario, the land has suffered a loss of value: it was previously valued at between 80,000 and 100,000 euros per hectare; yet it is currently being sold at 10,000 euros per hectare".