On March 12, the Avocado Producers Association ASOPROA officially introduced the Aguacates CV quality brand at the Sinyent facilities in the municipality of Polinyà del Xúquer. According to the association's president, Celestino Recatalá, "this quality brand aims to differentiate the quality of avocados produced in the Region of Valencia and add value to this origin."
"Valencian avocados are a local, sustainable product with all the food safety and traceability guarantees, and we want to differentiate our product from the avocados that come from third countries," he says.
The region has seen a significant increase in the acreage devoted to this crop. According to official figures shared by the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, in 2011, the autonomous region had 163 hectares of avocados. By 2016, the acreage had grown by more than 70%, reaching 279 hectares, and just 6 years later, in 2022, the acreage had grown to a massive 2,310 hectares, and there has continued to be notable growth up until now. "At this time, we estimate that there are more than 3,600 hectares of avocados planted in the Region of Valencia," says Celestino. "And with this quality brand, we want to acknowledge all the work and effort that Valencian producers are making."
"From now on, we will ask all commercial operators to work with the CV brand, as being able to work with avocados of differentiated quality can improve the reputation of commercial operators who are competing against overseas products, which in many cases are produced under very different conditions."
The fact is that there are more than a hundred producing origins in the global avocado market. In 2022, avocado imports into the EU-27 exceeded 1.2 million tons, with more than 208,500 tons being purchased by Spain.
In this context, the Aguacate CV quality brand will allow Valencian avocados to stand out as a local product in the European market, compared to imports that, in many cases, "need up to 40 days to arrive by boat to the European market."
"We want to stand behind what we are doing in the Region of Valencia and add value to a product that is guaranteed to be local and sustainable," says Celestino. "At this time, the harvest of the Lamb Hass variety is in full swing. It is being harvested at a very quick pace, with acceptable prices at origin and a good demand, and everything points to the situation staying like this until we reach the end of the campaign."
For more information:
ASOPROA
Tel.: +34 96 380 46 06
info@asoproa.es
https://www.asoproa.es