North America Edition
The ongoing price crisis affecting the citrus sector has led farmers to seek new ways of marketing, which is why 235 producers from Castilla have joined the online sales platform, naranjasyfrutas.com. This free portal enables, farmers to offer their produce (at the beginning, a year ago, it was mainly for citrus, and now it has already expanded to include Summer fruit). In this way, any trader, even wholesalers, can contact producers directly.
The 235 farmers who, throughout the province, have already joined the platform, mainly produce clementines, explained the sponsor of the initiative, Juan Jose Bas, a farmer from Valencia. They offer approximately 25,000 of the 125,000 tons of fruit that can be purchased on the website. Although the 25 million kilos are not much, they represent approximately 5% of the province's citrus production (which was below the 480,000 tons last season). It still is a significant percentage that shows that citrus producers are seeking an outlet to sell their orange directly to wholesalers.
In only a year, the portal has sent fruit to Perpignan, Holland and Italy, explains Bas. "And Martinavarro and other large retailers are calling us now, for the next campaign," he says. "They are also trying to reach an agreement with Saint-Charles, a group of companies from Perpignan dedicated to distributing fruit throughout Europe," he says.
These companies may directly contact the farmers, who post their telephone numbers after posting the characteristics of their crops (variety, location, time of collection, treatment, etc.) on the web. They can also call the platform developers. The process is free of charge for the farmers.
Not surprisingly, the initiative involves most agricultural organizations, including the Unio de Llauradors and Fepac-Asaja, which has even commented on its benefits in several information sessions in the province.
Thus, the province's citrus sector takes another step in the traditional Internet sales, which have also skyrocketed lately.
Source: Elperiodicomediterraneo.com
