Three companies from Lleida in north eastern Spain have created an export consortium to access non-EU countries including Brazil, Colombia and the UAE. The new entity, Sinergia Fruit Export will handle mainly stonefruit including peaches, nectarines and flat peaches.
Between them, the three companies that make up the group – La Coma, Caberol Fruits and Fruits Font – produce 120,000 tonnes of stonefruit, equivalent to around 12 per cent of Catalan’s total output, and have a combined turnover of €90m. All three are members of Catalan fruit association Afrucat.
Afrucat’s director, Manel Simon, said the decision to work together came about following a trade visit to Brazil and Colombia organised by Afrucat in 2013.
Speaking at the launch of the new company, Josep Maria Pelegrí, director for agriculture, food and the environment for Catalonia’s regional government said dynamism of the region’s companies was fuelling Catalonia’s economic recovery and creating new jobs.
“Catalan companies have adopted internationalisation as part of their strategic vision and this is boosting the competitiveness of our products,” he said.
The heads of the companies that make up the new group – Pere Ramoneda of Caberol Fruits, Carlos Lozano of La Coma and Xavier Font of Fruits Font – have asked for the support of the Ministry of Agriculture in putting in place the necessary regulations to allow them to access potentially interesting new markets.
