The Spanish Hass avocado campaign has already started, with greater volumes and lower prices compared to last year, but above all, marked by the 'yellow vest' protests in France. "We are dealing with serious difficulties in delivering avocado orders to our customers in Europe," says Silvia Madrueño, Head of Commercial Coordination and Marketing Management at Eurofresh.
Nevertheless, the Spanish avocado is not the most representative product of this Malaga-based company, which accounts for 60 hectares of the approximately 3,000 hectares devoted to the crop, with almost the entire acreage being either organic or in the process of becoming organic, and located in Peru, the Dominican Republic and Colombia. They also have their own processing plants in all these countries, as well as in the Netherlands, in the port of Rotterdam.
One of its most representative products, which has not been as affected by the strikes and enjoys better prices than Hass avocados, is the tropical avocado, as the large avocado varieties are commonly known. These have a higher percentage of water and therefore contain less fat; in fact, major brands in the United States and Spain have conducted marketing campaigns to sell them as 'low calorie' avocados. Eurofresh grows tropical avocado varieties like the Carla, Lula and Semil, considered the tastiest, in the Dominican Republic.
"We do not believe that these compete with other varieties, such as the Hass, for example. It is a different product, with a unique culinary use, since it is creamier, with a milder flavor. This type of avocado is very popular in the United States, mostly due to its large Latino community. Given the large volume we handle, we ship it mostly to this market. We also distribute it in Europe, although to a lesser extent, mainly in Scandinavian countries. We believe in the potential of tropical avocados in the European market, where avocado consumption is growing every year and is expected to continue growing in the coming years," explains Silvia Madrueño. "We are specialists in the production and marketing of this product, which requires experience and know-how," she adds.
The main destinations for Eurofresh's organic avocados in Europe are Switzerland, Germany and the Nordic countries. "Spain is a more difficult market when it comes to the sale of organic avocados; however, we are quickly gaining ground in other markets, such as Germany and Switzerland, which were among the first to appreciate organic culture and its values, and where this trend has been on-going for more than 20 years ago. Spain, like France or Italy, is a younger country in this regard."
Outside of Europe, the company is making inroads in markets such as the United States, Canada, Central America and China. It has been exporting organic avocados to some of the main operators in the United States for several years, and is currently positioning itself in the Asian market. "Our infrastructure in Latin America is a great advantage, not only to guarantee the supply of quality fruit, but also to have easy access to these destinations," she says.
For more information:
Silvia Madrueño
EUROFRESH V&F SL
T: 00 34 951 204 049
M: 00 34 673 561 678
silvia.madrueno@eurofresh.net
www.eurofresh.net