Last year was particularly complicated for organic strawberries, but it seems that all the parameters are now in place for a successful campaign. “We started the season on March 20th and we still have three weeks left to harvest. The weather has been on our side this year, with no heatwave that would affect plants or quality like last year. Throughout the campaign, we have therefore managed to maintain good strawberry quality,” explains Vanessa Bersuat, sales manager at Biogaronne.
23% increase in strawberry sales this year
In terms of sales, the season was also a success. “Sales have been very fluid throughout the campaign. We sold 5 tons more strawberries compared to the same period last year. We are currently at just over 22 tons in 2 months of campaign. We had a little more volume of strawberries and we had set up new markets, but what also helped us a lot in terms of sales was the fact that we organized a lot of operations with our clients, almost every week of the campaign. Even in terms of price, the strawberries were much better valued.”
More dynamic organic sales and better retail traffic
The organic sector has experienced a lot of turmoil lately but it seems that things are finally looking up. “Since the beginning of the year, we can clearly see that sales are more dynamic than last year. Despite the economic context, we can feel that sales are picking up again. Our volumes sold in specialized stores have increased, which is in line with the feedback we are receiving from our clients. There are more people in the stores than last year. This suggests that the market is finally regaining a certain equilibrium. Perhaps we had reached a point where everyone had started to produce organically and the market was saturated. Perhaps things are now getting sorted out among operators and it is safe to bet that the old-timers are the ones who will make it through the crisis.”
The upcoming campaigns look promising
After the strawberry, Biogaronne will offer many other products. These include the raspberry (we expect to sell 6.5 tons this year until Christmas), new red cabbage, new leeks, for which harvesting began this week, as well as green beans, butter beans and flat beans. We are also about to start a major campaign for the Noa cucumbers, which will run from June to October. All these new campaigns are shaping up well so far. “We have not encountered any problems in terms of production. In previous years, we had started the campaign a little early, but this year, we are right on schedule.”
For more information: 
Vanessa Bersuat - Responsable Commerciale
Biogaronne
Romas RD 13, 47130 Port-Saint-Marie
Phone: 05 53 98 39 10
v.biogaronne@orange.fr
http://biogaronne.info