Stubbins considers the Canary Islands a key component in their strategy for winter programming of tomatoes. With a mix of supermarket and food service customers, commercial director Peter Turone explains: “Our task is to provide consistent continuity of good quality fruit with sources that are also flexible enough to provide sufficient volumes for the peak demands of Christmas and New Year. This is irrespective of whatever weather conditions crops may face or however invasive pest and disease spread may become. Our planning has to minimise the various risks by establishing secure production sites that will always provide core availability throughout the winter. The Canary Islands forms an essential and increasingly important element of this plan.
“Canary tomatoes have always been there for the UK market,” he says, “but fortunes have been mixed in recent years with increased production from mainland Spain and Morocco. Added pressures from land developers and tourism, and a shortage of labour has affected the focus and investment of Canary growers. Development has been put “on hold” by many of them.”
Morna Blair-Cornwell, Spania Fresh Produce growers group Europe (ScSmb Produce) managing director, says last season was difficult due to lower prices. “The growers tried many new varieties which did not perform very well, plus there was an oversupply,” she says. “All these factors caused one of the worst seasons ever. Morale was low among the growers but this has brought about change as many have now diversified into other products.”
After the disappointing 2003 season, many Canary Islands’ producers have consolidated and re-grouped to try to maintain a better position in an increasingly demanding marketplace. Blair-Cornwell explains ScSmb’s Produce growers and exporters have dedicated a lot of time and careful planning since the end-of-season in order to determine the best production, timing and varieties for their customers. “The general trend for tomato varieties this season, in order to satisfy all our European clients, is Boludo and Dorothy, which we believe produce the right sizes commercially, have better flavour and a more uniformed shape,” she says. “Other varieties are being trialed and monitored continuously to evaluate the options for the future.”
This year ScSmb Produce has also opened a local agronomic department, headed by Noelia Rodriguez Hernandez. Blair-Cornwell says: “As a group we believe it is important to concentrate on the source to improve growing practices, high technical accreditation, better quality control systems and accurate traceability. Working within this framework will create further confidence and trust with our customers about the health and safety of the produce in Europe. Noelia is experienced and a professional in her field, who is well respected for her work with, and for, the growers.”
Commenting on the season so far, Hernandez says: “The weather this August and September has been extremely hot so many of the early trusses, lower down on the plant, have suffered and the flowers struggled to set. The early sendings could be quite high in colour and this may take a couple of weeks to settle down, but the later plantings should not be affected so badly.”
Despite tomato production forecasts being down 25 per cent, Blair-Cornwell feels very optimistic about the coming season: “ScSmb Produce will receive 20 per cent more because of grower consolidation. Cucumbers are up 40 per cent and because of produce diversification, some growers have planted more peppers.”
Sales and procurement director for the group, Steve Cornwell, says last year the group expanded its operation to include Rotterdam, headed by Leo Vermeulen. “This allows our growers to have more control and flexibility with their produce across the whole of Europe. It shortens the chain and gives our customers a closer link to the source,” says Cornwell. “As a group we have purposely gone later with volume this year to help spread the quantities more evenly across the season.”
The Canary Islands season has started one week earlier this year, with the arrival of the first shipment of 372 tomato pallets in Southampton this week. “They have either had a good growing season or the wet weather in the UK has reduced locally-produced volumes,” says commercial manager from Associated British Ports, Bruce Dawe. Southampton port currently manages all shipments from these Spanish isles, and tomatoes make up 90 per cent of the imports, with the remainder being peppers and cucumbers. “Last season, 106,000 pallets arrived on 74 ships, which on average is one ship per week,” he says. “We have 14,000 square metres of temperature-controlled warehousing dedicated to the produce, which is then distributed by road mainly to south-east England.”
The main produce grown in the Canary Islands is tomato. Total exports last season were 22.9 million boxes from Las Palmas and 13.7m boxes from Tenerife. Of this total approximately 60 per cent went to the continent and the rest to the UK. Additional exports included 3.8m boxes of cucumbers, and smaller quantities of capsicums, avocados and cherry tomatoes. Allfruit International director, Ramon Malo, anticipates tomato volumes for the this season to be similar to last. “The Allfru Group is based in Tenerife and exported a total of six million boxes of tomatoes, including organic, from five member coops; Guia de Isora, del Carmen, Luz Teno, Abona and La Paz.”
The majority of tomato production in Tenerife is based in the south, where four of the coops are based. “Growing conditions this summer have been good even though at times temperatures have been on the high side. We expect the quality of the tomatoes to be very good and this has been apparent in the first arrivals,” says Malo.
“We are always reviewing the tomato-growing techniques; the group’s technical department works with the agronomists of each coop to improve systems in order to achieve the best quality, flavour and condition. The fruits’ condition is a very important part of the whole operation as far as we are concerned. The Allfru group is fully integrated in the Aenor and EurepGAP protocols and we are in the final stages of receiving BRC accreditation.”
Malo explains that the overall acreage planted this season is slightly less than last season but they are hoping for better yields, so that total export quantities will be similar to 2003. He says: “This year we have some hydroponics plantations and at group level, practically 100 per cent of the plantations are under protective netting. The main varieties this season are Pitenza, Boludo, Dorothy, and small quantities of Yamile, Thomas and others.”
The main line grown for the UK is the classic round tomato and Allfru will supply vine tomatoes, some capsicum, and round and vine organic toms to supermarkets, catering companies and the main UK wholesale markets.
The most popular line from the Canary Islands continues to be the conventional round tomato, although Allfruit is gradually increasing quantities of vine and organic toms. “Our growing conditions and logistics are better suited to these lines, but we are trialing some of the specialist varieties in order to meet the increasing demand for these toms. In addition, all our member coops have been slowly updating their facilities; machinery, cold stores or new packhouses. These improvements will be of benefit throughout the whole process,” says Malo.
“But the main change in the past few years for us has been the advent of category management implemented by the supermarkets and the reduction of growers and exporters, which led to the formation of larger groups like Allfru and others. The market has become more competitive and the general consumer more aware of health issues, which places more emphasis on the technical side of the business, with strict controls on the use and application of chemical products and the need for good agricultural practices and record keeping.”
Grower and exporter Hernan Cortes believes that there will be further reductions in the islands’ growers, as poorer growers will disappear because a market no longer exists for poor quality. “We have been in a learning and transition phase over the past four years - we have learnt to cultivate new varieties tolerant to virus through trial and error and selected the best varieties. Despite the reduction in growing hectares, our aim is to increase the yield/sqm of high quality tomatoes and reduce wastage,” he says.
“We are on par with the mainland’s quality now, even though we have suffered in our costing because we can be pricier in terms of export/sqm. Ten years ago we didn’t have as much competition as today, but now we can sustain and anchor a business with high-quality product,” says Cortes. The group’s production is based in Tenerife and Las Palmas, and first indications of this season’s crop are very positive. “In general our production is flat, but we have moved away from the traditional round tomato and diversified into vine, cherry and cucumbers - representing a 20 per cent shift.”
Cortes sent 1 to 1.5m boxes to the UK last season to supply Morrisons and smaller multiples, wholesalers and caterers, who are fast becoming an important sector as it demands high quality produce. Cortes’ plans for the future are to diversify into other tomato lines, but he believes that there is still a good future for growers of the traditional round tomato.
“There is always a market and we need to embrace the demand.”
For Stubbins, the Canaries are also back into focus. “The very hot autumns of the last two years in Spain and Morocco, and devastating virus attacks followed by poor winter weather has made us see the Canaries as a supply source with a real future,” says Turone. “We have embarked on a period of development and commitment with our Canary suppliers so that their potential can be realised.”
The cooperative San Rafael, founded in 1980 and based in Vecindario on Gran Canaria, supplies all its tomatoes exclusively to Stubbins in the UK. The coop has 62 growers, with main grower Antonio Aleman, and over 150 hectares all accredited by EurepGAP. The coop’s recently refurbished packhouse has been extended to meet UK quality standards and produce is despatched to the UK either by boat from Las Palmas direct to Southampton or using temperature-controlled containers shipped to Cadiz before onward distribution to Stubbins at Waltham Cross. Turone says the containers are more appropriate at certain critical times of the season and for the speciality tomatoes now grown, as they help avoid some of the issues such as calyx mildew, softness and fruit splitting, associated with variable temperatures in other forms of transport and distribution.
San Rafael’s president Antonio Vega is positive about the future for the Canaries. “Our climate is more stable, with better light levels and consistent temperatures than our main rivals, giving us the opportunity to start tomato crops earlier and finish later, with the potential for better quality. At San Rafael, we believe that now we have an opportunity and the momentum for change which has led us to invest in new growing structures, systems and varieties to meet customer demands.”
San Rafael regularly visits Stubbins’ growing sites in the UK and Spain to share information about crop production and the application to the islands’ conditions. San Rafael has over 15 hectares of newly constructed high gutter, multi-tunnel structures, fully netted for insect control and equipped with hydroponics production systems. Further development for San Rafael will include investigating the use of biological agents to control pests made possible by the near secure and self-contained structures. “These structures not only produce the highest quality fruit, but are also capable of growing tomato varieties requiring effective environmental control that would otherwise not be considered for the Canaries,” says Vega. “The considerable investment is confirmation that we have noted the demands being placed on us by customers and reacted with an attitude for change, improvement and diversification.”
Stubbins’ technical manager Mary Garcia has been instrumental in developing new varieties and products for the 2004/05 season. “We have used experience gained from various Mediterranean sites,” explains Garcia, “and have taken into consideration crop management, yield, shelf life and customer preferences through tasting panels and development kitchens. We established several commercial trials last year - one example is a new vine tomato variety which was successful as a vine tomato and when picked loose as a classic round type. Quality on arrival in the UK last spring proved exceptional, and this winter San Rafael will be growing over 15 hectares as a fundamental part of their tomato production programme,” she says.
“We have already received the first shipment this season of this variety as a loose product and it stands out as a variety with a significant difference in quality.”
San Rafael will also have a three-hectare crop of baby plum Santa this winter as part of their diversification plans. “This variety should be ideally suited to their climate and growing conditions enabling a consistent supply of high quality product for which there is steadily increasing demand,” says Garcia. “Additionally, there are eight hectares of cherry tomato production, with the main variety Chiren, and we are investigating the potential for other speciality tomatoes of various types and sizes - it will depend on their productivity and shipping potential.”
San Rafael and Stubbins will be introducing pointed red and yellow Mediterranean peppers - 50 per cent of each colour will be grown by Antonio Aleman - as well as 10 hectares of cucumbers. San Rafael has a history of clovis pepper production predominantly for the local market, which has proven suitable for shipping to the UK. “It was an easy decision by both parties to commence production of peppers this season. This supply is seen by Stubbins as offering a real alternative and more stable source than other Mediterranean sites, and with increasing sales, there was an opportunity for another grower source of these products,” says Turone.
Small quantities of cucumbers have always been grown and shipped to the UK, but poorer winter weather conditions the last two years on mainland Spain, and reduced supplies have now made Canary cucumbers a more attractive proposition. He continues: “With the decision to grow and ship cucumbers to the UK, a new grading and shrink wrapping machine has been sent from the UK and installed for the October start of season.”
Turone believes the Canaries need to accept that their role in the supply of tomatoes to the UK has changed, but that they can still play a very important part within the overall supply base. “At present levels of production, the Canaries’ ability to unsettle and affect the European tomato market is not significant, but they should not be underestimated when considered as part of a well managed and controlled supply base. There will be further demise of smaller Canary growers and grower groups as the downward pressure on prices throughout Europe intensifies. But groups like San Rafael, who have strengthened and adapted their production through investment, will be the future. We believe San Rafael is a supply partner, which points a direction others would be wise to follow.”
ON THE TOMATO TRAIL
Foods from Spain, the national promotional organisation based in the UK, is predicting another good year for Canary Islands tomatoes with quality supplies to retailers, and the flavour and reliability that consumers have come to expect. This year’s supply will again be enhanced by in-store promotions in the UK throughout November and December - in Sainsbury’s, Somerfield, Tesco, Iceland, Asda and the Coop - to encourage consumers to buy Canary Islands tomatoes. Each punnet will be clearly labelled with the promotion’s details and will contain a Canary Islands travel and recipe leaflet, sealed in a food safe wrapper, with ideas on cooking with the tomatoes.
This is the third year that Canary Islands tomatoes have been promoted in UK supermarkets, highlighting how tomatoes thrive in the Canary Islands’ environment and in combination with integrated crop management and the help of the Bombus Canariensis - the working bee that pollinates the vines - as winter arrives in the UK, the tomato crop is ripening, ready for shipment. Based on the positive effect on sales from the previous two campaigns, Foods from Spain are sure that this year’s promotions will be as successful.
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