"We expect stonefruit season with large volumes and good quality"

Although the Spanish cherry and stonefruitcampaign will not kick off for weeks, and despite the fact that changes in theweather could still take a toll on the current prospects, early estimates pointto a season with large volumes and good quality.

"The 2015 stonefruit campaign willstart soon and we are currently finalising our programmes, particularly forhigh-demand products such as apricots and flat peaches," states EduardoCosta, of IMG. "Given the rainfall and hours of cold temperatures registered,at this point we can say that production volumes will be notable, and if producersalso carry out good pre-harvest work, the conditions exist for the fruit toreach a really high quality with good commercial calibres. However, we must becautious, because a hailstorm or untimely frost could change these prospectsovernight," he adds.

IMG will start the campaign in late Aprilwith French-type, orange-fleshed apricots from Badajoz and Murcia, as well ascherries, flat peaches, peaches and nectarines from Lleida, and from Aragonuntil late October, which are mainly intended for export.

The campaign's result will also largelydepend on whether or not the Russian veto ends in July.

"The veto marked the course of lastyear’s season, although it wasn’t tragic either, as we, the exporters, wereencouraged to seek alternative markets. We have opened markets in Europe aswell as northern Africa, South Africa, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Weare also preparing for the start of the overseas stonefruit campaign indestinations such as Brazil, Canada and the United States. Our goal, and IMG’sphilosophy since its creation, is to work directly with retailers, which we aresuccessfully achieving in Europe, although large distributors at overseasdestinations are perhaps more accessible through intermediaries," explainsthe exporter.

The company markets the products undertheir producers and customers’ brands, and has Global Gap, IFS and BRCcertifications. IMG also works with IFCO and CHEP packaging, providing a directservice to supermarket chains. "IMG has closed 2014 with fantastic resultsin sales, encouraging us to set more ambitious targets for 2015. IMG can helpany European retailers to schedule their stonefruit programmes reliably,ensuring a stable supply from beginning to end," affirms Eduardo Costa.