Due to the low production in Europe this year due to the impact of the weather, the Spanish stone fruit sector has closed a campaign with fair prices after 3 very difficult years in which many producers even abandoned the crop. This year's good results have given the sector a boost, motivating it to re-invest in new varieties and new plantations.
“The sector is now more optimistic, and this has led to our stone fruit seedling stocks being lower than in other years before the planting season starts in December. A large part of the sector was already asking for new varieties in mid-June and early July, as they had plans to renew their plantations,” says Pere Magrí, manager of the Viversa nursery and the production and marketing company Tros Nou.
“In previous years there has been some abandonment of farms, but those that persist are becoming more professional. However, we have to be cautious. What is clear is that it has been a good year for very specific reasons,” he says.
Based in the municipality of Almenar, in the north of Lleida, SAT Tros Nou was founded in 1986 as a producer and marketer of stone fruit, although 20 years ago, with the entry as a partner of Josep Sancho, it was already devoted to the fruit tree nursery business under the brand VIVERSA. 90% of Viversa's work is based on programs of PSB Producción Vegetal, who are breeders of stone fruit varieties that are distributed in much of Spain and other Mediterranean countries, as well as in Chile and South Africa.
“Three years after starting this activity, we met the Buffat family, of the company PSB Producción Vegetal, established in Murcia. In addition to devoting themselves to obtaining varieties of peach, nectarine, apricot, Paraguayo peach and plums together with their sister company Frutas de la Sierra Espuña, they are also dedicated to the production and export of them, which gives them first-hand knowledge and experience about what the market really demands. They stand out for their specialization in varieties adapted to climates with few hours of cold. We mostly work with their varieties because our clients simply demand them from us,” says Pere Magrí.
"We have 8 hectares of plantations where we showcase a wide range of new varieties, in addition to other more consolidated ones and other that have not achieved good results and that allow us to show our clients in their visits what can and what cannot be done, as well as to find the perfect variety for each period and in each producing area. Now that we don't have fruit to harvest, our job is to keep track of the development of the trees we have for the next season. We are happy with the quality of the summer grafts this year,” he says.
According to Pere Magrí, PSB programs stand out with varieties that cover the early and mid-seasons. “Stone fruit consumption in the European markets tends to happen on the first months of summer, but there is still a gap to fill after September and PSB is working on this. Soon we will have a program for flat nectarines, a species that has so far not worked very well due to issues with the pistillary closure and its sensitivity to excess moisture.”
The company sells its seedlings in Spain, mainly in Lleida, Valencia, Murcia and Badajoz. It also exports to France and Italy and countries further afield, such as Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Georgia, where they are growing little by little every year. Occasionally they also ship to North Africa. "Exports have allowed us to continue growing despite the crisis that the stone fruit sector has been suffering in Spain in recent years," says Pere Magrí.
For more information:
Sabrina Pascual
VIVERSA
SAT Tros Nou
Partida La Plana s/n 25126 Almenar, Lleida. Spain
Tel./Fax: +34 973770409
merce@viversa.es
www.viversa.es