The Spanish onion and garlic market remains stable, although with a lower supply. Prices remain high for both products, with a scarcity of large sizes this season.
"The Spring garlic campaign was going really well in Spain, but it was cut short because the product could not be properly dried after harvesting due to the heavy and constant rains in June. Later, the purple garlic production has been affected by a shortage of larger calibers," said José López de la Fuente, CEO of Grupo Lomar, a wholesaler of onions and garlic based in Zarza de Tajo, in the province of Cuenca, which has been active for more than 50 years.
The situation in the domestic market is, therefore, one of low demand due to the high selling prices, which are staying high due to the limited supply available. "The market conditions are difficult, especially because of the tension with the distribution chains, which are finding it difficult to adapt to the high prices of the product, not only because of the low supply, but also because of the high inflation and increased costs that we have been enduring for the last two years," said José López.
In view of this year's smaller harvest in Spain, we are resorting to imports from other countries. "This is not something new; both imports and exports are normally used to guarantee a supply in cases of low availability in some countries. Domestic products coexist without problems with imported ones. Normally, at this point in the garlic season, we would be exporting, but due to the shortage, we are importing," he said.
"In the case of onions, there is stability in terms of prices, but there is also a lack of medium-high calibers; an issue that is also being resolved thanks to imports," he added.
Grupo Lomar produces and markets around 55 million kilos of onions and 3.5 million kilos of garlic, and is working to achieve a 20% growth over the next 3 years. For the next season it already plans to cultivate around 800 hectares in the Spanish regions of Andalusia, Castile-La Mancha, Madrid and Castile-Leon.
The company has already moved its production to new facilities in Zarza de Tajo, Cuenca, where it has 19,000 square meters and the capacity to produce 400 tons of garlic and onions per day.
As part of its commitment to the sector's modernization, it has added a second production line with state-of-the-art machinery, featuring automated onion sizing systems, two machines for packaging with cellulose and cotton mesh, and two palletizers for the automatic packaging of the goods. Moreover, the company has doubled the number of cold rooms and its storage capacity now amounts to 6,500 tons.
"Since the inauguration of our new facilities, our production has already increased by 15%," said José López. "This percentage will increase little by little, depending on market demand and the progressive activation of new machinery. The automation of some of the processes brings with it improvements in the tasks carried out by our personnel, especially in the packaging and palletizing lines, which are now simpler and more productive," he said.
The company's customers include some of the main central distribution markets, such as Mercamadrid, Mercasevilla and Mercabarna, distributors on the mainland and large retail chains such as Alcampo, Carrefour, El Corte Inglés, Dia and Makro. Also, around 25% of its total sales are exports.
For more information:
José López de la Fuente
Grupo Lomar
CUV-3034, 16470 Zarza de Tajo, Cuenca. Spain
+34 918 93 72 21
jose@grupolomar.es
www.grupolomar.es