A pepper campaign with smaller volumes than usual and a high demand, which has resulted in high prices at auctions and difficulties to fulfill the supply programs with supermarkets, have affected cooperatives such as Surinver. FreshPlaza visited this entity, which has around 400 producers and is based at the municipality of Pilar de la Horadada, in Alicante, a few meters from the border with Murcia. The company is also in the middle of the watermelon, sweet corn and pumpkin campaigns, and continues to bet strongly on ready-to-eat processed products, having become a leader in the Spanish market.
"It is difficult to meet the pepper demand this year"
"It is not normal to have such limited volumes of peppers at this time of the year. Peppers have their cycles, with ups and downs in terms of production," says Javier Antonio García Linares, Commercial Director of Surinver.
"It is normal for the production to drop in May for about 3 weeks and to rebound again in June, although this year there has been no recovery and the volumes are at levels that we consider rather low."
"At the same time, the Netherlands, our big competitor in the pepper market, seems to be diversifying its destinations and shipping more to countries like the United States and Canada, leaving more room for us in our markets in Europe. Given the lower pressure from this country's volumes, there is an even greater demand, and we are struggling to cover the programs."
Prices in the auctions are exorbitant, and although Surinver doesn't buy through them, they end up having an impact on their negotiations with the big distributors.
"Our agreements with the supermarket chains are closed with lower prices than in the auctions, because if the retailers were to buy at such prices, these would skyrocket on the shelves. We work with a model of medium and long-term programs which leaves no room for speculation. In any case, despite the difficulties, we hope to close the campaign with good results," he explains.
The cooperative produces short bell peppers for export, as well as long Clovis or Lamuyo for the domestic market and France, and other specialties, such as Padrón peppers, Palermo peppers and spicy peppers.
"We have a greater volume of bell peppers, which are gaining more and more ground to the Lamuyo in this area. We have programs with supermarket chains, mainly Spanish and French, to which we supply Lamuyo peppers, so we will keep a given amount of hectares for this pepper variety," says the trader.
"The heat wave in Europe has caused watermelon sales to rebound"
The cooperative's watermelon campaign is already in full swing. The fruit is one of its most important products in summer, as it ships about 20 trucks a day to all European markets. Surinver is a partner of Grupo Fashion, so it produces and sells black seedless watermelons under this brand. It also produces other types of watermelon, such as striped or yellow watermelons, among others, although to a lower extent.
This year, while both the acreage devoted to the production of watermelons and the volume have increased in Almeria, the figures in Murcia and the south of Alicante have remained the same. Also, due to the cold and rainy spring in these areas, the fruit has not set so well and lower yields are expected. The campaign has kicked off with a good demand for Murcia.
"The first part of the Spanish watermelon campaign, with a harvest in the province of Almeria, has been complicated, since there has been a greater production compared to last season and little demand due to the bad weather recorded in the destination markets. However, with the switch from Almeria's watermelons to those from Murcia, temperatures have suddenly risen across Europe and we didn't have enough fruit to meet all orders. At this time, the stocks are up to date thanks to a stable demand. If we take advantage of this situation, in just two weeks we will have marketed at least 50% of the volume of the entire campaign at very good prices. It is worth keeping in mind that in the watermelon sector, everything can quickly change at any time," says Javier A. García.
Strong investment in ready-to-eat range, a segment in full swing
In recent years, people's lifestyles and their eating habits have changed. Consequently, the food industry has reacted, aiming to satisfy consumers, as indicated by the growth of ready-to-eat products and the launch of new products ready for consumption. In 2018, Surinver built a new factory for the manufacture of such products; the second of its kind for the firm.
"We are national leaders in the production of grated tomato, escalivada (traditional dish with grilled vegetables) and roasted peppers, as well as other products that we have already developed and new lines in which we are working for the future. In addition to the Bio product line, we want to promote the ready-to-eat range, because we see that the new generations are increasingly concerned about sustainability, seek to eat healthier and are interested in convenience. Large supermarket chains are betting more and more on these products, which continue to gain ground on the shelves."
For more information:
Javier Antonio García Linares
jagarcia@surinver.es