"The lower apple production in Europe will give us many opportunities"

With offices in Lleida, Fruilar produces apples, pears, stonefruit and cherries in its fields located in the north of the province.

"We produce apples, starting with the sweet galas, continuing with the sour Granny Smith and ending with our flagship variety: the Pink Lady®, with us being one of the two Spanish companies authorised to produce it," explains Joan Sedentí, manager of Fruilar. With a production that accounts for 75% of the total marketed by the company, its availability covers a very long period that can last for more than 10 months.

"Large calibre apples are mainly intended for the domestic market, while the medium or smaller apples find their way to central and northern Europe, depending on the varieties. In the rest of Europe they expect a smaller apple production this year, unlike us, so we hope to have good opportunities there, as well as in the Middle East, with increasingly interesting destinations such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia," explains Joan Sedentí.

Although the Indian market was recently opened for Spanish apples, the exporter does not believe that this will be a potential market in the short and medium term, mostly due to the methyl bromide treatment protocols, which are banned in Europe. "I don't really see it as a potential market in terms of volume. This year, with lower production in Europe, we can find more attractive markets," points out Joan Sedentí.

We expect 6% less pears

The pear campaign is just starting in Lleida with the first Ercolini and Limonera. "We started the pear harvest this week with the production expected to be 6% lower than last season," says Joan Sedentí. "The drop in temperatures during the setting stage has been the main cause."

The first Ercolini and Limonera pears will go both to the domestic market and to Italy. According to the producer and exporter, the best opportunities in the pear market will be for the Conference variety, which is highly appreciated in Germany and other destinations in central Europe, despite the great competition from the Netherlands and Belgium, which will also have a smaller production this year. When calibres are smaller, the UK is a good alternative.

For more information:
Joan Sedení
Fruilar
+34 686523662
+34 973 20 02 50
gerencia@fruilar.com
www.fruilar.com