The Dutch company, East4Fresh, has increased its sweet potato acreage in Portugal. This expansion was done in collaboration with a specialized cultivation company. The area has grown from 120 to 160 hectares
East4Fresh's Helien Verhagen says, “The harvest has been good just about every year. This has been the case from when we began, seven years ago. This year, we started harvesting in mid-August. We will continue until December."
"The sweet potatoes go through a treatment process as soon as they have been harvested. They are then sold. We want to continue ensuring higher production and better varieties. We do this through constant monitoring."
Helien Verhagen in Portugal
“Current prices are very good. A shortage of supply is putting prices under pressure. We usually agree on a seasonal price with our supermarkets and discount stores. We will have to wait and see what the supply from North America will look like. But, since the season has just started, prices are somewhat higher," says Helien.
“There was a shortage on the market from America for a long time. This is still the case. Very little comes in, and then you have to wait for the new season. We expect them to come onto the market in mid-October."
According to Helien, Portuguese sweet potatoes are not the same as those from Spain or Egypt. "The Portuguese variety is of a higher quality. I have also heard from the supermarkets that they prefer Portuguese sweet potatoes. Volumes increase year on year too."
"We take our cultivation seriously. We keep our varieties clean too. We can do this because we do everything ourselves. That makes a difference. Our quality is comparable to that of the sweet potatoes from North America."
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She has also noticed a positive development in sweet potato retail sales. "Sweet potatoes used to be a product that did not get much attention. Now, you see retailers focusing on this product. They are looking for partners that can continue to deliver quality sweet potatoes."
“We are currently busy with our first organic crop. We grow sweet potatoes in three colors - orange, white, and purple. These products not only differ in color. They also have different tastes and nutritional values."
"We see that the different colors are slowly becoming more popular. People have gotten to know the standard type of sweet potato. They are know looking to try something different," explains Verhagen.
East4Fresh will introduce ready-to-cook, frozen European potato products for the first time this year. "The products you see now, all come from Canada. We want consumers to taste our sweet potatoes, grown in Southeastern Portugal, all year long," she concludes.
For more information:
Helien Verhagen
East4Fresh
67 Transportweg
2676 LM Maasdijk, NL
Tel: +31 (0) 180 620 201
[email protected]
