Everything points to the upcoming pumpkin season being a good one, especially for the organic production, and this is, precisely, the product that the Rioja cooperative Frutos del Campo has added to its portfolio this season.
"At Frutos del Campo, we were looking for an alternative product to do crop rotation in artichoke farms, instead of leaving the land fallow, and after conducting several studies, seeking vegetables that could adapt to our production schedule, we opted for the butternut squash," said Rodrigo Mauleón.
"This year, we have carried out the first test with organic production, and although the area has been small, we will have a good production. The most important thing is that there is demand for this product in the market," he says. "In fact, although the peak of the harvest will be reached next week, we have been supplying customers for several weeks already and the feedback we have been getting about our organic butternut squash has been quite positive."
The same can be said about the prices, "which for now have been quite good," says Rodrigo. This season, according to the industry itself, the demand for pumpkins could be high due to the lower production on the continent. "In the vegetable sector, it is often difficult to have a clear reference of everything that has been planted in Spain or Europe, but at Fruit Attraction, some customers from the Netherlands approached us, asking for the price of our pumpkins, and this surprised me. People at the fair said that this year, due to the climatic conditions in Spain and Europe, namely the persistent drought we have been suffering, the acreage devoted to pumpkins has been reduced compared to previous years, which leads us to think that the prospects for this season are very positive."
"We are highly satisfied with the start we've had and we are optimistic, although we are also aware of the difficulties brought by the current economic circumstances, which are a cause for concern and make production patterns hard to predict." In fact, the latest data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food revealed that the volume of vegetables and potatoes consumed in Spanish households up to July has fallen by a considerable 13.4%.
"The upside is that we have a good, marketable product, and although the consumption of vegetables has fallen in general, the pumpkin productions have not been that large. We only need to make sure that others, besides our customers, know that we will have volumes available."
"We are going to record a 35% drop in the pear harvest compared to last year, which was exceptional"
The cooperative, based in the municipality of Aldeanueva de Ebro, is currently also immersed in its organic pome fruit campaign. "We are finishing the apple harvest with the last Fuji apples. In this area, there have been no losses due to the cold and our production will be similar to that of previous years, although the sizes will be a little smaller. However, we will see a drastic reduction in the pear production."
"Although frosts did not affect our area, we have suffered quite a few heat waves this summer. The trees tried to stay alive and stopped sending sap to the fruit, so we have the same pear units, but with a reduction in sizes that will cause the volume to drop by 35% compared to last year," when, as Rodrigo Mauleón recalls, the cooperative's harvest was exceptional. "The profitability of agricultural producers is going to be significantly affected this year; on the one hand, because of this lower production and, on the other hand, because of the significant increase in the cost of inputs."
Launch of new products next season
Pome fruit has been the main fresh product for Frutos del Campo, which expanded its portfolio with organic artichokes and, now, with butternut squash; although these are not be the only products that the cooperative plans to work with. "Our cooperative has been searching for new products that, in addition to fit in our schedule, are demanded in the markets and can provide profitability to our partners, and we have already identified four others that we plan to launch next year," says Rodrigo.
For more information:
Frutos del Campo
Av. Gonzalo de Berceo, 81
26559 Aldeanueva de Ebro, La Rioja, Spain
Tel.: +34 941 14 23 26
[email protected]
http://frutosdelcampo.es/
