Cuna de Platero fully equipped with Fresh-Picking system

The Moguer-based cooperative, Cuna de Platero, will be fully equipped this season with the revolutionary Fresh-Picking harvesting system, which will become essential in a year with higher average temperatures than usual.

The Fresh-Picking harvesting system is designed for harvesting days with intense heat, when sweltering hot temperatures can be reached in the greenhouses and it is proposed for work to start two hours earlier.

"This year, given the atypical weather conditions and high temperatures, we believe it will be more necessary than ever for those devoted to the harvesting to have 100% access to this system," points out Juan Báñez, General Director of Cuna de Platero.

"In the past few seasons we have already carried out some tests with the Fresh-Picking system to evaluate its viability. It was necessary to design a lightweight system with a type of light that would not damage the eyes of the pickers, and the solution arrived from a technology company in the province of Huelva," he explains.

The Fresh-Picking system offers nothing but advantages to the chain, states the manager of the cooperative. "In addition to protecting pickers from the heat, the quality of the fruit also improves, given that it reaches the packing stations at a lower temperature and, as a result, they don't need to be kept as long in chambers, with the energy cost which that entails. Moreover, the fruit can also arrive quicker to the shelves of local supermarkets."

Cuna de Platero thus consequently remain at the forefront of the industry, introducing small innovations in its processes that create a high added value for the growers, "Pickers are really happy with it, and not just in our cooperative, but also in other companies based in Huelva, which also want to purchase the equipment. Moreover, we believe that this system could even be used with other crops," affirms Juan Báñez.

Besides the launch of this innovative system, Cuna de Platero will also once again attend Fruit Logistica, in Berlin, where it will strongly promote its premium brand, Berrycatessen, introduced last year and intended for the most exclusive varieties, such as the Adelita raspberry, which also allows them to remain in the market all year round except for the two hottest weeks of August.

"For now, we are packing raspberries, blueberries and blackberries under this brand, since we have yet to find the right strawberry varieties. We are focusing our efforts in R&D in order to find a strawberry variety that can be more exclusive in terms of organoleptic characteristics and thereby suitable for Berrycatessen," states Báñez.

The cooperative continues to diversify its berry production. While last season it produced 650 tonnes of raspberries, this fiscal year it expects to produce 1,300 tonnes. As for blueberries, the volume will grow from 630 to 1,000 tonnes this year, and for blackberries it will increase from 30 to 40 tonnes.

Cuna de Platero invites all professionals interested in berries to find out more about its products, equipment, values, philosophy and work methods.