"The strawberries that hit the market are perfect, but the volume available is insufficient. At least this shortage is somewhat compensated by the high prices that are paid at the moment, since the situation is not limited to Spain. Italy and France, where the weather has also been far from ideal, are also suffering shortages," he says.
However, Cristóbal Monteagudo warns that, although the cold this year has taken a toll on the production of its competitors, "every year there is a greater overlap with the strawberry campaigns of other European countries, which is leaving Spain an increasingly narrow gap."
TC Fruits produces its own strawberries in Huelva, where it has around 103 hectares after having expanded its acreage by 8 hectares this season. The strawberries are packed in their Huelva plant under the Curritas and Sol Palos brands. Around 45% of the fruit is intended for large Spanish retailers and wholesale markets, while the remaining 55% is shipped overseas. The formats used are 2kg and 1kg boxes and 250 gram and 500 gram trays.
Cristóbal expects the situation to change in the coming weeks. "In about ten or fifteen days, we expect strawberry volumes to increase and then there will be more product availability."
For about 7 years, the company has also been betting on the production of blueberries of the Star variety, whose campaign kicked off two months ago with small volumes. These will also see an increase in the production in about two weeks.
In addition to its headquarters in Huelva, TC Fruits also has packing plants in Galicia and Portugal. Its main products are grown in the Atlantic axis, which includes Huelva, Portugal and Galicia, where they mainly cultivate strawberries, stone fruit, citrus fruits, mountain apples and kiwis.
For more information:
Cristóbal Monteagudo
TC FRUITS
T: (+34) 986 504 395
cristobal@tcfruits.com
www.tcfruits.com