The arid Spanish agricultural region of Murcia produces more seedless grapes than anywhere else in the nation. Into the largest table grape packing house in the town of Totana march 430 workers to take up their positions along numerous conveyor belts.
It is Moyca, a Spanish family-owned firm that opened its first packing house 23 years ago, in 1995. Today, it grows and packs about a third of all of the 185,000 tons of mostly seedless table grapes from the Murcia region.
Two officials from China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs visited this plant last September, as well as other installations and farms in Murcia. They were there to inspect every part of Spain's grape production and processing, focusing on quality and sanitation.
Executives in Murcia say it's one of the final steps before the official signing of an export agreement by government officials from Spain and China, expected in the coming months.
For these table grapes, the harvest runs from June to November. Murcia packers grow some 50 varieties of red and green mostly seedless grapes. Many of them are planted in Murcia, but also at other locations in Spain, at different altitudes and temperatures, adding to the variety.
Moyca already exports its grapes to Hong Kong and expects the Chinese mainland will demand high-quality grapes. "For them, fruit is like a present," marketing director Josefina Mena said, "It's the best present that any person can receive. So, they like big fruit, good color, sweet fruit."
Source: news.cgtn.com
