The cherry harvest, one of the season's most anticipated fruits, is about to start, ahead of everyone else, in the Spanish municipality of Albalate de Cinca. It will kick off in a month and a half in advance compared to other regions of Spain, and Fruit Luxury expects to start the harvest of 40,000 kilos of greenhouse cherries from 15 April. Then, throughout May and June, they will continue the task and harvest another 150,000 kilos.
There has been a little delay caused by the mild winter, as explained by Francisco de Pablo, manager of the family business with over 20 years' experience. "We are already receiving questions about when we'll hit the market, but cherries need some cold," he states.
In De Pablo's opinion, the arrival of cherries "marks the beginning of the spring," and the fruit is thus expected at the main European capitals. Fruit Luxury is one of the few companies that market early varieties that reach the market at luxury prices. Although they "reach much more expensive prices than what the producer receives," he warns.
The main variety harvested by Fruit Luxury is the Brooks, very sweet and thick, which takes a maximum of two hours to travel from the field where it's grown to the warehouse in Albalate, where the cherries are subjected to a cold 'shock treatment', immersing the fruit in water at a temperature of 0 to 1 degrees Celsius. "It is a very delicate fruit and the cold prevents it from ripening," explains Francisco de Pablo. The product's shelf life is thus extended, facilitating their arrival at destination in good condition after four, five or six days.
Another of the "secrets" that guarantee the delivery of a good product is the use of a sorting machine equipped with a scanner. "It is very important for us, as it detects certain defects and sorts the fruit by size and colour," assures De Pablo. The reason for this is that the demanding markets that pay so much for Fruit Luxury's cherries request different calibres and shades of red. Right now, the company selects six different sizes and three colours: light red, dark red and black.
To make all this possible, Fruit Luxury employs about 60 workers during the season (with six or seven remaining all year round). These employees handle the cherries with the greatest care so that they can arrive to the European market, where they are shipped, in the most perfect condition.
Meanwhile, the company continues trying to open new markets. "We've carried out some tests, shipping about 600-700 kilos to Hong Kong and Dubai. It worked out well, but the challenge is to reach the rest of China, for which the export protocol between the two countries remains to be approved," says De Paul.
Source: noticiashuesca.com
