One of Murcia’s oldest agricultural cooperatives, Suresco, has undergone a major conversion of its production from cotton to citrus – a process that was completed this week with the opening of a new citrus packhouse in the Spanish region.
The new facility, which will receive production from Suresco’s 65 partner growers, was officially opened in the town of Torre Pacheco yesterday (29 November) by Murcia’s agriculture minister, Antonio Cerdá, and the mayors of Torre Pacheco and Cartagena.
At the opening ceremony, Mr Cerdá paid tribute to the “determination and tenacity” that the cooperative’s members had shown in converting their businesses from cotton to citrus production.
According to Murcian daily La Verdad, the cooperative has invested €2.7m in the packhouse, which will have the capacity to process 280 tonnes of citrus every day.
Suresco, said the publication, has ambitious plans for its first full season of production.
The group forecasts that it will market around 15,000 tonnes of citrus during the campaign, but hopes to double this total in the medium term by adding new grower-members from across Murcia.
Suresco’s president, José Luis Morales Sánchez, said that 60 per cent of the cooperative’s production would be sold within Spain, while the remainder would be exported to eastern Europe and Russia.
