Located in Almería, Spain, Agroiris is an Agricultural Transformation Society (SAT) with over 400 partners. They commercialise over 200,000 tonnes of locally-produced fruits and vegetables, including cucumber, courgette, aubergine, tomato, watermelon and every other melon variety, as well as their most important product: peppers, of which they produce and commercialise up to 75 million kilos annually. The season has only just started, and according to J. Antonio Díaz Planelles, Agroiris' manager, it is still soon to judge. "One can easily notice the tendency for prices to stay low, because production volumes are growing every year, although consumption is not growing at the same rate."
Regarding quality, Planelles assures that Almeria's product is a safe bet. "Every year we manage to meet our clients' expectations. Varieties also adapt to the general demand for medium-sized peppers that easily combine with other colours."
The most planted variety is the California, a square-shaped pepper, standard in every European and American country. "We produce all four colours: green, red, yellow and orange. One of our main offers is the tricolour, a plastic container with three peppers of different colours, which is widely accepted in many markets. Additionally, for the more Mediterranean markets, especially the Spanish one, we offer pepper varieties such as the Italian, Clovis or Lamuyo," explains Planelles.
Mini Tribelli
"New varieties of exceptional quality are coming out, such as Red Bull's Horn, with a really sweet taste, and Zanetti, which we already commercialise. Our most recent project is the mini conical Tribelli variety, a small pepper which guarantees a very sweet taste and is being widely accepted in all of Europe, and of which we are leaders in production and distribution," continues Planelles.
Mini Tribelli
"New varieties of exceptional quality are coming out, such as Red Bull's Horn, with a really sweet taste, and Zanetti, which we already commercialise. Our most recent project is the mini conical Tribelli variety, a small pepper which guarantees a very sweet taste and is being widely accepted in all of Europe, and of which we are leaders in production and distribution," continues Planelles.
As for brands, they have Agroiris, Pambo, Iris Gold, but they are also present in common supermarket brands for other fruit and vegetable firms.
When we asked about the presence of Dutch products in Almeria, Planelles responds: "The truth is that only a handful of very specific Dutch products are present. The Netherlands produces peppers mainly in the spring and summer months, thereby, with them and Spain together, the market can be well-provided all year round with peppers of optimal quality."
About the effects of the recession in the sector, Planelles concludes by saying that, like everyone, they have also been affected. "Raw materials have become more expensive, but we are unable to raise prices due to them being considered staple products, making supermarket chains put a strong pressure on us."
For more information:
Juan Antonio Díaz Planelles
SAT AGROIRIS
Ctra de Almerimar, Km 1. El Ejido (Almería)
Tel: +34 950 48 90 75
[email protected]
www.agroiris.com
When we asked about the presence of Dutch products in Almeria, Planelles responds: "The truth is that only a handful of very specific Dutch products are present. The Netherlands produces peppers mainly in the spring and summer months, thereby, with them and Spain together, the market can be well-provided all year round with peppers of optimal quality."
About the effects of the recession in the sector, Planelles concludes by saying that, like everyone, they have also been affected. "Raw materials have become more expensive, but we are unable to raise prices due to them being considered staple products, making supermarket chains put a strong pressure on us."
For more information:
Juan Antonio Díaz Planelles
SAT AGROIRIS
Ctra de Almerimar, Km 1. El Ejido (Almería)
Tel: +34 950 48 90 75
[email protected]
www.agroiris.com
