Paraguayo peaches are gradually becoming the flagship fruit of Frutas Esther, one of Murcia's largest stonefruit producers. "Last year was the first season in which we sold more Paraguayo peaches than regular peaches," explains its manager Jesús Gómez.
Founded in 1969, Frutas Esther is a family business specialised in stonefruit, grapes and berries, which first started shipping fruit to Madrid's wholesale market. Although it is headquartered in Abaran, Murcia, a large part of its business is based in A Coruña and Huelva, where they own fields and handling facilities. The plantations are located within a 25 km radius of the Abaran headquarters and located at various altitudes in order to complete the cycle until September.
In terms of volume, nectarines are still the most important product for Frutas Esther, followed by grapes, Paraguayo peaches, apricots and peaches. However, the company expects to increase its production of Paraguayo peaches in the coming campaigns. "When we started, we were increasing its production at the same pace as that of peaches and nectarines, while, at present, the latter are being replaced by Paraguayo peaches. We see that consumption is growing, and that is because, at first, especially outside Spain, nobody was familiar with Paraguayo peaches, but now they have become another product in the range."
According to Jesús Gómez, the main advantage of this fruit is that it always tastes good and always tastes the same during the 4-month campaign. From an agricultural point of view, we have been learning about its cultivation process step by step, as it is a product sensitive to rain, and also harder to handle because of its unique flat shape. It is also less productive than round fruit; "perhaps, that is where the secret of its unique flavour lies. At first, the countries of Eastern Europe and Germany were the main destinations, although consumption is also significantly increasing in the rest of Europe."
Start of the campaign marked by weather disturbances
According to Jesús Gómez, this year's campaign has kicked off very soon and with difficult weather conditions in Europe, which has hampered sales at the start; a situation that was reversed later, with bad weather at origin and good weather at destination. "We hope that the weather conditions will stabilise in both directions for the sake of our sales, as it is a product that depends very much on the weather. Consumers drink coffee when it's 10 °C and eat fruit when it's 25 °C, and when it's over 30 °C, they drink beer," jokes Jesús Gómez.
"Right now there is a clear shortage of fruit in both Murcia and Seville, and apparently Extremadura will also record drops. Meanwhile, prospects for Catalonia and Aragon are still uncertain, although some also expect a lower production because of the lack of hours of cold in winter."
To succeed in China, you need a differentiated taste
In the words of Jesús Gómez, "we have to start step by step, becoming first familiar with the culture and taste preferences. It takes 30 days from the moment the fruit is shipped from the warehouse until it reaches its destination, which is a fairly long journey for stonefruit. Our strategy will first focus on airfreight with small volumes, so that we can get to know their preferences. After that, we may be able to start transporting larger volumes by sea. Paraguayo peaches are, perhaps, the product with the most potential in the newly opened Chinese market."
"We want to sell them fruit with a unique flavour, as we'll be competing with their local productions, and it is worth noting that China is the world's largest stonefruit producer, although it is also a market that appreciates imported products."
It's important for consumers to eat the fruit at their optimal ripeness level
"Supplying tasty and juicy fruit that ensures an enjoyable taste experience is our main goal. We constantly seek better flavours; our work is not oriented towards productivity or sizes. Consumer demand is going in that direction, and they do not mind paying a little more if they feel their demands have been met. It is not a matter of Brix degrees, it is a matter of taste, and this is very important."
"We are aware that, in summer, we have to compete against a wide range of fruits that become available at very good prices. Our task is to convince consumers that stonefruit is the best choice for your dessert. Moreover, the most prestigious retail chains want to differentiate themselves from their competitors by offering the best taste, so, if they know that we can supply it, they will not hesitate to work with us," affirms Jesús Gómez.
"It is also important to stress that our challenge is to find ways to inform consumers about the best periods to eat each type of stonefruit, and we do this by working together with the distributors."
Murcia's climate is ideal for stonefruit. Water, is a limiting factor
"Unlike other Spanish production areas, Murcia has an extremely dry climate, with many hours of sunshine, which, along with the soil characteristics, ensures that the fruit will have high sugar levels and consistency. Although this also entails disadvantages, mainly the water scarcity, which is our biggest limiting factor. Since we are children, we learn to appreciate Murcia's water resources; we collect and store water from the roofs when it rains and no child in Murcia washes his/her teeth with the tap running. It is in our genes."
The biggest competitors at the start of the campaign are Morocco and Egypt, which starts 15 days earlier than Murcia, especially in the French market, while in Spain, Seville has a similar schedule as Murcia.
Frutas Esther has recently launched a peach juice and they will soon test a freshly-squeezed apricot and Paraguayo peach juice. Last year, they produced a Paraguayo peach and apricot jam. "These are products which, although not accounting for significant volumes, help strengthen our brand's image," states the exporter. So far, these are exclusively distributed in Spain and Belgium. FreshPlaza had the pleasure of tasting them.
For more information:
Jesús Gómez Yelo
Frutas Esther, S.A.
Ctra Estación km 1,9
30550 Abarán. Murcia. SPAIN
T: +34 968770000+34 968770000
M: +34 676481177+34 676481177
jesus@frutasesther.es
www.frutasesther.es