Sugar cane cultivated in the Safor region, in the province of Valencia, has become a new reference in the catalog of Pons Redondo Group, a company that specializes in the marketing of citrus fruits, vegetables, pomegranates, and summer fruit.
"This product has been grown on a small scale here for many years, just like liquorice. A few months ago a farmer in our area contacted us offering us the possibility of producing it for us to market," stated Juan Antonio Pons, manager and founder of the Valencian company Pons Redondo Group, based in Tavernes de la Valldigna and with an annual turnover of around 5 million euro.
"We can offer this product from October to April. We started in November 2021 as a test year and after seeing how happy our customers are, we have decided to continue with it. Truth be told, it is drawing attention in the sector," Juan Antonio Pons said.
The company is selling sugar cane, mainly in France, through supermarkets, in Italy, and to some extent in Spain, through wholesale markets. "It's a niche product, so we're talking about small quantities, which we started shipping to fill orders for our citrus customers, which represent the bulk of our business. They demand a little more each time, so we are not ruling out opening more distribution lines with supermarkets," stated Juan Antonio Pons.
The cane is peeled, washed, and cut by hand before its packaged. According to the producer and marketer, despite being an easy product to produce, sugar cane is difficult to transform because each piece's presentation must be straight. As a result, its market price reaches approximately 2 euro per kilo.
"Some consume it by peeling it and eating it directly and others use it to sweeten their cocktails. Some even make their own sugar by crushing the cane, extracting the juice, and drying it in the oven, as part of the homemade and ecological production of basic food products trend," stated Juan Antonio Pons.
For more information:
Juan Antonio Pons
Pons Redondo Group
Plaza de España 17
46760 Tavernes de la Valldigna, Valencia. España
T: +34 96 282 06 87
M+34 669 416 222
juan@ponsredondogroup.com