Strawberry producers from France, Italy and Spain met Wednesday in Huelva in the framework of the Spanish-French-Italian contact group, in order to analyse the current season, and the status of the joint efforts made in phytosanitary aspects. The meeting was held at the headquarters of the Association of strawberry producers and exporters of Huelva, Freshuelva.
At this meeting, held annually for more than ten years, Spanish, French and Italian producers exchange experiences and discuss the challenges of the global market with the aim of achieving a strategic position for strawberries in the international market, as highlighted by Freshuelva president Alberto Garrocho.
For his part, the agricultural counsellor of the Spanish Embassy in France, Alberto López-Asenjo, argued that "the most important goal of the meeting is to identify the problems encountered in production and marketing and find joint solutions." As an example, he mentioned the changes in export strategies as a result of the Russian veto or of changes in consumer trends in other countries.
López-Asenjo also highlighted the high competitiveness of Spanish strawberries, which is the result, in his view, "of a very technologically advanced production which seeks differentiation in quality; a very important aspect for consumers."
The acreage devoted to this product in Spain this season is of 6,500 hectares, while in France and Italy it amounts to about 3,000 hectares. Spain has a production of nearly 300,000 tonnes, while Italian growers obtain 120,000 tonnes and France produces 45,000 tonnes.
The Spanish-French-Italian contact group also conducted a technical visit to a strawberry plantation in the province of Huelva, where they were shown the progress made with different varieties, as well as the production and biological pest control techniques used in Huelva's fields.