“We have to be off the market before Polish Gala and Dutch Elstar”

The apple harvest for Savasun in Tarragon – the Spanish production company of the Staay Food Group – was started nearly two weeks ago. “We’re later than last year, because colouring didn’t go well,” says Ad van der Staaij. Besides the 1,200 hectares of outdoor vegetables, the company has also grown apples on about 50 hectares surrounding the warehouses for years now. “This is an ideal way for us to keep our permanent workers employed during the summer.”

The Gala, Granny Smith, Red Delicious, Golden and Elstar varieties are grown by the company in the Vilanova d’Escornalbou. “We’ve now finished our Elstar harvest. Last week, we started with Gala, and within two weeks we’ll start harvesting Granny Smith and Golden Delicious. We have to make sure we’re off the market when Polish Gala and Dutch Elstar arrive on the market. We stored Granny Smith for quite a long time in the Netherlands last year, but the other varieties have to be sorted and sold.”

The sales of Spanish apples are going well this year. “The market is empty, so we can sell the apples well. The majority is sold via the Netherlands, but Ireland is a good market as well. Besides, I also sell some locally,” Ad says. The harvest is a bit smaller this year. “Although Northern Europe had good weather this spring, we had very bad weather, particularly in Llerida and Girona. In May, temperatures have not been higher than in the Netherlands even once. Because of this, the trees are growing fewer apples than last year.”