Hortyfruta, the trade organisation which represents co-operatives of 18,000 fruit and vegetable growers in the Andalusia region of Spain has launched a profile on Facebook.

Hortyfruta has joined the world’s biggest social network with the objective of uniting the interests of farming groups, distributors, retailers, journalists, fruit and vegetable growers organizations and other interested parties on one platform.

The profile has been launched by Hortyfruta which is conscious of the increasing importance of social networks for business development, sales, or, simply to ensure close, daily contact with their audience.

The body said: “With this project Hortyfruta enter a new era in the world of information with new content and more tools to drive participation from its followers, as the page offers the possibility to generate debate, request information, carry out surveys and gauge opinion regarding the fruit and vegetable/ farming sector, amongst other functions.”

The new Facebook profile joins the recent renovation of Hortyfruta’s website (www.hortyfruta.es) which now offers new content and more orientation towards consumers as well as the organisation’s own producers.

The Hortyfruta blog (blog.hortyfruta.es) is also available from the website offering a consumer focus with health news, nutritional information and recipes, as well as industry news. The blog which was created two years ago currently has thousands of followers, not just in Spain but across Europe and in Latin America.

Hortyfruta also has an online newsletter, ‘Hortyinfo!’ with the content directed equally at producers, retailers and consumers. Through this new initiative, users who follow Hortyfruta via Facebook are able to access information relevant to the sector and actively participate, posting comments on the group’s Facebook wall.