Second-tier cooperative adds avocados to its line-up with integration of two new cooperatives
Spain’s Unica Group posted a turnover of €676mn for the 2023/24 campaign. The figures, which include €626mn in fruit and vegetable sales, plus the turnover of its service companies, mark a new record for the second-tier cooperative.
Looking ahead to the forecasts for the current 2024/25 campaign, Unica said it expects fruit and vegetable sales to top €700mn and consolidated turnover to be around €750mn.
As part of its expansion strategy, Unica has added avocados to its product line-up through the integration of two Cádiz-based cooperatives, Cooperativa del Campo Guadiaro and Cooperativa San Martín del Tesorillo (Tesoricoop). Together, they will add 15,000 tonnes of organic avocados and citrus to Unica’s offer.
Eleuterio Sánchez, president of Cooperativa del Campo Guadiaro, commented: “We are convinced that this alliance will be beneficial for both parties and that we will both contribute a lot. We are convinced that our incorporation will allow us to improve competitiveness and reach new markets.”
The president of Tesoricoop, Nazario Bermejo, added: “Unica will provide a more solid commercial structure and greater stability to producers, will optimise logistics and will strengthen the cooperative’s negotiating capacity in an increasingly demanding and globalized sector”.
José Martínez Portero, president of Unica, described the move as strategic step in the diversification of the group’s offer. “Avocados as a product are on the rise, with growing demand in international markets, and having two cooperatives specialised in this crop reinforces our leadership in the fruit and vegetable sector,” he said.
