Besides offering a wide range of products, Murcia has the capacity to supply certified organic products. This is what family companies, like Mirafresh Organic, belonging to the agricultural cooperative Hortamira, aim to supply to the consumer. "We have been working with organic crops for 15 years, and at this time, that is all we grow in our 5 hectare farm," states José Domingo Navarro, a member of the Mirafresh Organic team.
In fact, 60% of the volume marketed by Hortamira consists of the organic production of its partners. "There has been a great expansion of these crops in the area; I actually believe we are one of the main organic producing areas of Europe," adds Navarro. However, it has not been a quick or easy process. A few partners started informing themselves and adapting their productions little by little, and facing the extra costs that this entails. "The first years were difficult because we had to face excessive costs; for example, you need to buy insects to control diseases, and this resulted in no profits being made at the end of the month," added Navarro. But after a hard job, the reward comes, and not only are we finally making a profit at Mirafresh and Hortamira, but "we have focused on training ourselves even more and specialising in biodynamics, which is a stricter modality which is starting to be demanded more in Central Europe, our main market," explains Navarro.
For now, 90% of the cooperative's organic production is exported to countries such as the UK, France, Denmark or Italy. Faced with the question of why so much production is shipped overseas, Navarro explains that "there is a lack of consumer awareness; they still believe that anything that comes from the soil is healthy, without realising how many harmful products these fruits and vegetables are carrying." To this we must add the fact that organic products "are usually about 30% more expensive than conventional ones," adds the representative of Mirafresh Organic. However, as the volume of organic products increases, "the prices will have to fall, and I believe that in about two years or so there will be a greater volume in the domestic market," affirms Navarro.
Para más información:
José Domingo Navarro
Mirafresh Organic
Tel.: +34 699682372