There is currently a gap in the raspberry market, right before the start of the second part of the season in Huelva. "At Grupo Ca'nova, we work with organic raspberries grown exclusively in the province. This year the start of the season was delayed by several weeks due to the heat, but despite this, we are achieving very good sales with really good quality fruit," says Álvaro Belmonte, Ca'nova's quality technician.
"We had already been working with strawberries and blueberries from Huelva for many years, shipping them to Germany and Italy, but raspberries are a new product for us. The demand for organic raspberries from our customers in Portugal is what led us to introduce them in our range in 2023, and sales have risen in a very remarkable way. In 2023, we handled 6,200 kilos, and this year, since the start of the campaign at the end of October/beginning of November, we have already reached 17,000," says Álvaro.
Ca'nova España acts as an intermediary for the marketing of Spanish production in Italy, France, and Portugal through the various subsidiaries of the Italian company of the Apofruit group, Ca'nova, which specializes in the production and distribution of organic fruit and vegetables.
"We deliver 100% of our organic raspberries to Portugal," says Álvaro. "Raspberries are a very sensitive product that isn't really suited for long transport times, especially when the fruit's organic, but Huelva has the advantage of being close to our logistics center in Portugal, from where we can supply all our clients."
"This proximity is a double advantage because we usually work with mixed pallet shipments - especially for some of the 64 references we have in our range - and having suppliers nearby speeds up the supply of this type of shipment to our clients."
As far as blueberries are concerned, Ca'nova can offer organic fruit practically all year round. "In a few days, we'll start working with the organic blueberries from Spain. We have been importing organic blueberries from Chile in October, and then we moved on to Peru, from where shipments have been arriving up until last month, and we are currently working with Portuguese blueberries," says Álvaro.
"Our campaign in the province of Huelva runs from late January to July, and in that month, we move on to the production in the north of Spain, where, depending on the weather conditions, we can get the supply we need until September and even October, connecting again with the Argentinian season and then again with the Chilean campaign. It is worth noting that in 2024, the season in the north has been very good, with quality fruit and very positive results," he says.
"As in the case of raspberries, our organic blueberry sales have been increasing since we started working with them in 2016. In fact, while in 2023 we marketed around 47,000 kilos, in 2024 we reached 57,000 kilos," says Álvaro.
"In our case, we decided to focus on giving added value to our fruit by introducing an organic option, and we haven't been working with premium blueberry varieties until now. Within the organic sector, doing something premium is even more expensive and our aim is to ensure consumers can always buy organic fruit and vegetables at the best price so that consumption can continue to increase."
"In this regard, there hasn't been a great difference lately between the price of organic and conventional products. On the one hand, this promotes consumption, but on the other, it may be hard to make up for the additional costs, lower yields, and higher perishability associated with organic products. In our case, last year we had to make the decision not to grow organic strawberries because the purchase price in retail wasn't worth it; in fact, it was so low that it was even lower than that of conventional strawberries at various times during the season," says Álvaro Belmonte.
For more information:
Ca'nova España
Mercamurcia Avenida 18
30120 El Palmar, Murcia, Spain
Tel.: +34 968 868 773
[email protected]
https://canova.es/