In a bid to diversify the production of berries in the province of Huelva, the Medina Group decided to innovate in Huelva (in the municipalities of Cartaya, Lepe, Isla Cristina and Villablanca) by introducing the Sharon persimmon variety, which is currently marketed by the Inter Terra Agricultural Transformation Society (SAT) under the Sharoni brand. Since it's a non-astringent, seedless, and hard variety, it can be eaten like an apple.
The group grows about 300 hectares of persimmons with a production that last year reached 12,000 tons, 700 of which are organic. However, this campaign the production will be somewhat lower, which will allow producers to collect the fruit of greater caliber and higher quality, the company stated. The group describes the campaign's evolution as positive. "It has started somewhat earlier than the previous campaign, which has a very positive impact on the acceptance of the product by consumers."
At the beginning of the campaign, prices were relatively good due to the shortage of the product. However, the market becomes saturated once the production of Bright Red persimmon, the most grown variety nationwide, enters the market, so there is a very sharp drop in prices, which can reach 0.60-0.70 euro per kilo at destination.
Exports
Nearly 90% of this persimmon production is exported. "Spain is still getting acquainted with our Sharoni persimmon, a product that is highly appreciated and valued in countries such as Germany, France, or the United Kingdom, even though we also have a strong presence overseas."
The Sharoni persimmon will make its big leap to China, once the request to open this market for this fruit, which was submitted this year by the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, is resolved. "It is a market that has a lot of potential to become a large consumer of this product. Andalusian production would fit perfectly to continue once the local persimmon campaign is over. We are a company with a lot of experience in exports and with a large presence in the Asian market. In fact, we already have some potential clients in China, but we are waiting for the request to be resolved favorably," sources from the company stated.
Source: sevilla.abc.es
