As growers, exporters and importers begin gearing up for the new Canary Islands campaign, many are hoping that the good fortune enjoyed last season will continue into 2005/06. Indeed, a number of producers are increasing their exports in anticipation of strong demand.
“The importance of the Canary Islands was demonstrated last year when, due to the severe weather on the peninsula, there would have been severe tomato shortages in northern Europe if the Canaries had not been included in the supply equation in the early spring,” says a spokesperson for English Village Salads.
“Growers on the islands are improving their facilities with increased use of hydroponics, multi-tunnels and improved packhouse facilities. Furthermore, there is increased commitment to achieving BRC standards.”
The UK is the single largest taker of Canary Island tomatoes, accounting for 45 per cent of total volumes. Early loads were due to dock in Southampton in mid to late October, according to Ramon Malo, director of Allfruit International.
Allfruit is the marketing arm for five co-operatives in Tenerife; Coop Guia de Isora, Coop del Carmen, Coop Luz Teno, Coop Abona and Coop La Paz. In addition, Allfruit handles tomatoes from some independent growers.
The Canary Islands enjoy favourable weather conditions and an average 2,500 hours of sunshine in a year. Normally, there is little rain between the months of November and March.
“The sunny climate, abundance of light and fairly constant temperatures, which, when added to the volcanic soil, make very good growing conditions for tomatoes,” Malo says.
Steve Cornwell, sales and procurement director for Spania Fresh Produce, agrees: “The main advantages for growing salad crops in the Canary Islands is down to a very good climate. Unlike mainland Spain, it’s unusual to get unkind winter weather.
“Being further down and closer to the African coast you have longer days of good sunshine and much warmer conditions, which helps the plants and strengthens the flavour in the product.”
Because of the climate, the majority of crops are grown in greenhouses, many of which are now high tech, says María José Sevilla, director of Foods from Spain.
“The temperature is always mild with no frost and there’s no need to heat the greenhouses in the winter months. Some are built of mesh, fundamentally to protect the tomato crops from the winds.”
Initiatives are also being undertaken to optimise growing conditions for tomatoes by controlling humidity, as growers look to increase yields, Sevilla notes.
FFS is cautiously optimistic about opportunities this season. “The 2004/05 season produced a crop of high-quality tomatoes and in theory we should have at the very minimum a season as good as last year,” she says.
“The prospects are good, we are on target for a good harvest and, with the new advances, we should produce high quality crops, but it is still dependant on many factors and how soon these advances begin to show.”
Tomatoes are by far the most popular line produced in the Canaries and, traditionally, volumes peak during the winter months. However, in recent seasons, growers have endeavoured to provide consistent supplies and avoid periods of very high or low volumes.
Allfruit’s main tomato varieties are Pitenza, Dorothy and Boludo although it will also market smaller quantities of other varieties. “We are expecting increased volumes this season, possibly reaching 2.6-2.7m cartons,” Malo says.
Diversification is a priority for producers and it is something Spania Fresh is focusing heavily on. “We are moving and diversifying into more speciality tomatoes as well as producing quality round tomatoes with the varieties of Boludo, Dorothy and Duncan, which all have good flavour,” Cornwell notes.
“We are taking this approach to increase our status in the areas of flavoursome tomatoes to satisfy our ever increasing customer base.”
It has been a busy couple of years for Spania Fresh, which recently took on Tenerife-based grower, SAT Acevedo Reid, in addition to three exporters.
“We have invested in both Gran Canaria and Tenerife for the future,” Cornwell says. “Poor weather in mainland Spain last season helped customers to understand the importance of the Canary Island growers.”
Indeed, Spain remains the Canary Island’s biggest rival, although it also contends with Holland and the UK at the beginning and end of the season.
EVS notes that there is also competition from Morocco. However, Canary Island suppliers continue to be strategic partners in order to maintain availability through the winter months.
While observers believe key improvements have been made, there will be one less UK importer sourcing from the Canary Islands this season. “We took some very small volumes last year but we won’t be handling Canary Island tomatoes in 2005/06,” said an importer who preferred to remain anonymous. “The quality is fine for mid range, bulk tomatoes but our customer wants fruit with a high brix level, better flavour and hardier skin.”
However, in terms of future purchases, he is not ruling out the area altogether. “We’re not importing any this season but that’s not to say we wouldn’t look to source from the Canary Islands in the future providing that they continue to perform as well as other suppliers.”
Similarly to other tomato producers, the Canary Islands has endured a challenging few seasons. Malo notes that while overall prices in 2004/05 showed some signs of improvement, the decade to date has been challenging for growers, resulting in poor returns.
Malo believes that the industry needs to be more competitive without compromising on quality. In order to achieve this, every process from production and packing to handling, transport and distribution systems need to be scrutinised.
“The competition has to be countered by producing good quality fruit, with good flavour,” Malo says. “It has to arrive in the right condition to meet consumer expectations. To achieve this, our co-operatives are constantly updating their facilities, equipment, technical systems and growing methods.”
Indeed, Malo tells FPJ that over the course of the last few years, all of Allfruit’s partners have been renovating and improving their facilities.
“We now enjoy modern installations, cold-store facilities and new grading and packing machines,” he says. “The Allfru Group is also fully integrated in the protocols of AENOR and EurepGAP and we are in the final stages of obtaining full BRC accreditation.”
Organic produce represents a small percentage of total tomato exports and plantings have been relatively constant over the past two seasons. “We are possibly the largest producers of organic tomatoes with approximately 500,000 cartons,” Malo says.
While tomatoes represent the main salad item grown in the Canary Islands, Spania Fresh is also concentrating its efforts on cucumbers.
“We have our own cucumber production grown on 25 hectares of land in Gran Canaria,” says Morna Blair-Cornwell, managing director. “Along with our other two exporters, Coop San Rafael and SAT Framape SA, we are key players in Gran Canarian cucumbers.”
The firm primarily grows the variety Imanol, which, according to Blair-Cornwell, produces medium-sized cucumbers and higher yields of Class I product.
Spania Fresh intends to enter the market slightly later than last season, as it waits for English crops to wind down. There could also be less competition from mainland Spain as growers there are expected to produce fewer cucumbers this year.
No comments yet