Murcia-based fresh produce marketing cooperative Hortiberia is planning to undertake a major promotional campaign for its organic fruit and vegetables across Europe this season, in a move aimed at improving sales in key markets.
With the organic sector coming increasingly under pressure as a result of the current economic downturn, the Spanish company this week announced that it would be carrying out large-scale promotions in major European markets, such as Germany, France and the UK, as well as the Spanish domestic market.
In a statement, the export consortium’s general manager, Fermín Sánchez Navarro (pictured), said that through the plan Hortiberia hoped to encourage greater numbers of consumers to buy Murcia-grown fresh products.
“The objective of the plan is clear – we are trying to increase the level of organic products as a percentage of our sales,” he explains. “We must not overlook the fact that one of our principal objectives is to secure new clients and for this we need to add value to our production.”
Mr Sánchez said the company had also recognised the need for the organic sector to become more established in Spanish society so that the products can eventually be found in any location.
“Hortiberia already has three years working in the organic sector and we now export to all countries in Europe, but we need to carry out a campaign to generate greater awareness of the products and this is something we have not done sufficiently until now,” he added.
Grupo Hortiberia is composed of nine principal grower members in the regions of Murcia and Valencia who together farm more than 8,900ha of citrus, stonefruit, melons and vegetables.
According to the Spanish department of agriculture, Murcian organic fruit and vegetable production, which covers some 37,600ha, now represents 6.2 per cent of the total amount of fresh produce cultivated in the region.
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