Soft-fruit producers and exporters in Huelva - the south-western province of Spain that lays claim to being the largest strawberry production area in Europe - must invest in R&D in order to achieve greater added value.
The call came this season from the Andalusia regional executive’s lead member for innovation, science and business, Ana Barbeito.
This is something that producers are already addressing, working on co-financed projects with the region’s food and farming research body Ifapa, particularly with regard to technology transfer. In terms of adding value, Ifapa and the sector are investigating the opportunities offered by organic production.
If adding value is the catch-phrase of 21st century fresh produce supply, then the buzzword must be rationalisation. Spanish horticulture is traditionally fragmented and the berry sector in Huelva has been no exception. That is changing though, as the reality of fierce competition on national and international markets as well as retail consolidation in Europe begins to bite.
On average almost 300,000 tonnes of strawberries are grown on 7,500ha in Spain - 95 per cent originating from Huelva. The average plantation is just 3.2ha and plots are scattered among other, more traditional crops in the area, such as almonds, grapes, grain and increasingly, citrus.
Driving out costs and banding together is now a necessity and this season marks the first complete one for Onubafruit, a marketing company formed to bring together the production of eight different companies.
The aim of the group has been to unify criteria when it comes to meeting export demands and to cut costs in the supply chain by dealing directly with supermarkets and their category managers.
The eight members - Alfonseca, Hortofrutícola Bonares, Cooperativa Hortofrutícola Cartaya, Freslucena, Costa de Huelva, Condado de Huelva, Sol Condado, SCA Nuestra Señora de la Bella - account for 70,000t of strawberry and 2,500t of raspberry production. There are also two non-producing members that lend their expertise: the regional agriculture executive and financial institution Caja de Ahorros El Monte. In its first full season, the organisation has already marketed 18,000t to export markets.
The UK takes some nine per cent of all the strawberries grown in Huelva and is therefore a major export market after Germany and France. However, this season has been marked by low prices - particularly on export markets - and erratic volume. As a result the sector in Huelva is determined to learn from its mistakes. Workshops are already being organised for dates in June by agronomists from the regional executive as well as strawberry production companies and members of the follow up committee for the area’s three-year strawberry strategy plan. A spokesman for growers’ organisation Coag-Huelva said: “It beggars belief that the sector is unable to organise itself and use the instruments at its disposal to avoid such catastrophic situations.”
The 2004-07 strawberry strategy, developed by the regional government with the sector, prioritises concentrating the offer and improving marketing and production structures as well as developing relationships along the chain.
Prices have been disastrously low this season, and the sector admits to quality problems due to the now notorious cold snaps of January, February and March. “We are talking about lower returns for the 3,000 producers in Huelva, but losses...the adverse weather conditions have meant that most of the fruit has been weak and flavourless,” says president of sectorial association Freshuelva José Manuel Romero.
An oversupply in April following scarcity in March brought prices crashing down. And difficulties securing adequate labour further complicated the situation.
May brought with it a final rally for the season in terms of pricing, as production slowed and prices recovered slightly.
A saturated processing sector which has taken fruit from China has further complicated the market situation and led to outrage among the region’s growers.
But there are some brighter indicators for the future. One of the key elements of the sectorial strategy is development of new varieties.
A group of researchers co-ordinated by Ifapa is looking for the elusive Spanish berry to replace Huelva’s dependence on Californian types, particularly Camarosa. In the first instance four varieties show the most promise; Andana, Carisma, Marina and Medina. And a fifth, Aguedilla, is also being trialed. All five have specifically been developed for Huelva conditions and a temperate-Mediterranean climate. Work is also on going on soil sterilants and in developing training programmes for agronomists and growers.
One of the other areas highlighted by the strategy is diversification into other product areas, most notably raspberries.
UK-based Hargreaves Plants has been running trials in Spain this season to produce long canes for raspberry production and produce high, early yields.
“Initially, Tulameen has been the leading variety in Spain,” says Jamie Petchell, in charge of specialised raspberry cane development at Hargreaves. “Licence restrictions limit other varieties being used. However, in the UK and other territories Tulameen has performed exceptionally well, as has Glen Ample. First Spanish fruit was picked in the Huelva region around mid-April. The quality was very good and yields looked high.
“Long cane techniques allow growers to produce fruit of the favoured floricane varieties at a time when there is a gap in the market. Better quality canes from low-density systems allow our customers to predict more accurately higher yields and the harveting season. Our increase in sales is based firmly on a high spec product and production is well underway for winter 2005-06 delivery. Already sales are looking like they could outstrip supply,” he says.
The regional executive has also been working on an integrated crop management protocol for raspberries in response to the crop’s rapid development in the Huelva region. Some 850ha are under raspberry production in the province and the crop has experienced exponential growth: in 1997 there were just 160ha. Glen Lyon dominates, but Tulameen is now estimated to account for about five per cent of production. Although production methods are very different to those of strawberries, the crop presents a good opportunity for the strawberry growers of Huelva used to handling a delicate soft-fruit crop and with cold-store infrastructure and know-how in place.
Other regions are keen not to miss out on the burgeoning raspberry boom and the Valle del Jerte - better known among the UK trade for its famous Picota cherry - is fast becoming an important source for the fruit.
Agrupación Cooperativas del Valle del Jerte (ACVJ) brings together co-ops in the valley which is in the region of Extremadura to the north of Huelva. Between them they marketed 700t of raspberries in the last full season. The season differs slightly from that in Huelva and the group aims to have continuous production from April to December. EurepGAP and BRC certification has been obtained and the UK is the key export market for the valley.
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