Last night was the famous Halloween night, a British tradition increasingly widespread across the world and in which pumpkins play a special role. Cooperatives, such as Surinver, produce and market these pumpkins for purely ornamental use.
"Halloween Pumpkins are basically produced for Halloween. This is a variety that doesn't have the best characteristics to be sold for fresh consumption, as due to its low production it would become a very expensive article," explained José Ignacio Garcerán Torres, General Director of Surinver.
According to José Ignacio, in recent years, due to the difficulties involved in the variety's production, some operators have started using the Mini Musque to be marketed for Halloween, using suitable packaging for this celebration. "It is easier for the producer, for the packer and also for the supermarket, although the product is, in fact, harder for the customer to handle. When the customers become aware of this, they will have to decide what kind of pumpkin they actually prefer," he states.
Surinver is a cooperative based on the coast, in the south of Alicante, which ensures a very stable temperature with mild winters and summers cooled by the sea breezes. The cooperative markets the production trying to meet specific customer demands, scheduling the crop programs in order to have access to the goods at all times, and with the facilities and resources necessary to carry out the packaging and shipping to the customer.
Strong increase in pumpkin consumption in every possible format
Pumpkins are a product that has been booming in recent years. "Consumption has grown significantly in recent years with the opening of new markets, the sale of cut or vacuum-packed produce, the production of soups, etc. The range of formats is gradually increasing," points out José Ignacio.
The cooperative has 250 hectares of crops in different parts of Spain and sells 6,000 tonnes per year of the Butternut, Pottimarron, Musquet de Provence, Mini Musque, Totanera, Halloween orange and Halloween white varieties, with the Pottimarron and Butternut also sold as organic produce.
"In our case, the initiative started more than 25 years ago when a grower proposed that we produce pumpkins, if the cooperative was willing to market them. The cooperative then carried out the negotiations with the customers and began developing the line. Initially, the production totalled 20 tonnes per year, with a very slow growth, and in recent years, with the entry of more partners, as well as the line's opening for more customers, the growth has been very strong," he affirms.
For Surinver, pumpkins are an interesting product, as they have the necessary room available, the technical expertise and the logistics, among other things, to be able to handle large volumes of the product, for which they have also developed fresh cut and processing lines.
"We sell the pumpkins across Europe, in Spain, the UK, France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Italy, Belgium, Portugal, Austria, Slovenia, etc. We specialise in working with supermarkets and try to meet our customers' demands in terms of production volume, size and harvesting periods," he adds.
According to the exporter, pumpkins are grown in almost every country. "Wherever we go, there is some local production, and we also compete in the market with other exporting countries, such as Portugal, Morocco and Italy, as well as Argentina and South Africa in the off-season."
Surinver's pumpkins are available all year round, along with other products, such as fresh sweet corn, Padrón peppers, hot peppers, green celery, white celery, buds, Palermo peppers and lemons.
"Just like on any other road, it is essential to walk, stumble, fall, get up and get going again. We are now at the stage where we are presenting our products to the market and I think it will work out. It's all a matter of finding out what the customer wants and give that to them in the format they require. Our free time is scarce; we want to eat healthy products that are easy to prepare, but which are not too expensive. We have to take all these variables into account to make sure our product is a success.
For more information:
Marcus Ludwig
Surinver
Avda. de la Cooperativa s/n
Pilar de la Horadada, 03190
Alicante, Spain
T: +34 96 676 62 50
M: +34 635 84 07 60
[email protected]
www.surinver.es
