In Extremadura, Spain's fig producing region par excellence, with 55.5% of the country's total production, volumes have increased considerably in the current season, even reaching "historic" figures, according to Francisco Balas, of Higos Fiki.
"In 2022, the heat at the beginning of summer caused the trees to be almost already in the autumn phase in June; in fact, the large production of brevas this year is a reflection of last year's bad results, since the breva is the fruit that grows on the wood of the previous year," said Francisco.
"Fortunately, the rains in May this year helped the plants physiologically and the production has recovered, and the campaign has started with good volumes from the beginning. The only downside is that when there is good production, prices suffer."
"In the domestic market, prices have stood at 2-3 Euro per kilo, and in France, the Netherlands and Belgium, which are our main export markets, they have oscillated between 4 and 5 Euro per kilo, although some customers, especially in the British market, have paid up to 8 Euro or 6-7 pounds, especially for brevas." However, we cannot forget that the logistics process of figs is more complex than that of other fruits, and this must be taken into account when setting their price.
"Once picked from the tree, figs must reach their destination in about 48 hours, because they are a very delicate and perishable fruit. They must be harvested by hand when they are optimally ripe, because, once they are harvested, they stop accumulating sugars. In our company, we harvest the figs first thing in the morning, starting at 5 AM, to avoid the heat. Within 24 hours, the fruit arrives at Mercamadrid, and in just 48 hours it is already at their international destination markets; therefore, to correctly supply this product and ensure it arrives with the quality expected by customers, you need the right logistical capacity."
"This year, the demand has so far been very good, but also somewhat unstructured. Fresh figs are a new product, and we are seeing interest every day from national and international wholesalers and retailers, perhaps greater than that of the consumers themselves. We have even seen interest from large European distributors, although for now it is difficult to supply the volume they need."
"We also have to take into account that Turkey enters Europe with great force in September, and that it can offer great volumes at prices with which we cannot compete. However, in terms of flavor and sweetness, Spanish figs are unrivaled compared to those produced in other countries. At Higos Fiki we market figs with an average of 21 degrees Brix; to get an idea of what this value means, a cherry with a Brix of 14 is already really sweet, and our figs have up to 7 degrees more."
For more information:
Higos Fiki
Plaza San MartÃn s/n
06410 Torrefresneda, Badajoz, Spain
Tel.: +34 638 961 227
[email protected]
https://higos-fiki.es
