Huelva's strawberry campaign is gradually entering its peak production phase and, so far, the season has been marked by lower yields and some ups and downs in the prices.
"The strawberry production has been lower than usual in the months of January and February because the weather has been colder and rainy, so fruit formation has been delayed," says Jerónimo González, manager of Fresumbria, a company from Huelva which has recently changed its corporate name, ceasing to be Onubafruit Export and adopting the name of its brand.
"Prices are acceptable, but very volatile, since they are closely linked to the available supply. This is a difficult campaign in every sense, since production costs have increased and the markets have tried to push prices down. The rise in costs is being assumed mainly by producers and marketers. In general, I would say that the average price of strawberries in February this year is slightly lower than in the same month of the previous one, although with higher production costs," says Jerónimo González.
At this time, the strawberry volumes are starting to increase. As the exporter says, "now is when the strawberry campaign really begins. We are waiting to see the impact that the war in Ukraine is going to have on the price of energy, fuel and raw materials," he says.
With offices in Punta Umbria and cold storage in Cartaya, Fresumbria is specialized in the export of berries, mainly strawberries, which account for 97% of the total. Although a small part is intended for the domestic market, almost all the production goes to supermarkets and wholesale markets in France and Germany.
"It's only been four years since I entered the business and founded this company, although I have many years of commercial experience. Our business model is based on facilitating the management of the production and marketing for small growers, with whom we have agreements to rent their plots, fund their crops and determine the plants we want in order to supply a fruit with the specific parameters demanded by our customers."
"We work with some varieties with royalties, as well as other free varieties, such as the Fortuna, Leticia, Rociera or Palmerita. We also collaborate with a nursery in order to test new varieties. Since last year, we have grown by 400%, and in 2022 we expect to market a total of 700,000 kilos of berries," says Jerónimo González.
For more information:
Jerónimo González
Fresumbria, S.L.
C/ Condado, 1.
21100 Punta Umbría, Huelva. Spain
M: 34 647570673
jeronimo@fresumbria.com