"With 1,700 ha of iceberg lettuce, we're one of the top Spanish growers"

The new iceberg lettuce season started at Fruca Marketing from Murcia last week. "It rained again after months, so the first harvest was slightly delayed. I expect a smooth switch from the Dutch to the Spanish season. The pepper season has also started again," says Mariska de Zoete. The Dutchwoman left for Spain nine years ago with her husband and three children and has been working in the commercial department of the Spanish production giant for five years now.

Mariska de Zoete during the Fruit Attraction

Fruca Marketing was founded in 1973 by the Cánovas family, who still own it, as a citrus producer. In 1986 distribution of vegetables and melons was started. In 1997 the company built a 22,000 m2 packaging station with 6,000 m2 cold storage and in 1999 the company started growing its own plants. "We are in the entire chain from seeds to consumer. All of our production is from our own cultivation or from growers who grow to our standards and with our plants," says Mariska.

Sales throughout Europe
The product assortment consists of lettuce varieties, endives, melons, watermelon, citrus and peppers. "We have cultivation locations in Almeria, Murcia and La Mancha. We grow melons and lettuce in those three regions, as well as peppers in Almeria and in high tech greenhouses close to our packaging house in Murcia. To extend the season we also grow peppers on an area of 138 hectares in Morocco," says Mariska. The production is intended for the full European market. In the Netherlands Albert Heijn is one of their regular customers.

Fruca Marketing's total cultivation area is impressive. The company has 1,700 hectares of iceberg lettuce, 70 hectares of little gems and 90 hectares of (mini) Romaine lettuce. Around 120 hectares of cultivation is set aside for the other lettuce specialities. The total endive area is 90 hectares and the total pepper area is 475 hectares, of which 138 are in Morocco and 312 hectares are in Murcia and Almeria, plus 25 ha of high tech in Murcia.

In the summer most of the supply at Fruca is melons and the company does well with them. The area has 350 hectares of yellow melons, 450 hectares of Galia, 250 hectares of Cantaloupe, 70 hectares of Charentais melons, 40 hectares of Piel de Sapo and 140 hectares of watermelons. The fruit area is complemented by 679 hectares of citrus, which mainly consists of lemons, supplemented by mandarins.

Mariska finds it difficult to predict the season. "The weather conditions have been quite extreme with drought and high temperatures, but we always have to wait and see what the season will bring. We are a stable company and have customers throughout Europe. Due to our own cultivation and export experiences, we know what our customers want"

For more information:
Mariska de Zoete
Fruca Marketing
Tel: +34 968 15 15 15
Mob: +34 638 105 411
Mariska.deZoete@fruca.es
www.fruca.es