"Spain: "The garlic market is stagnant"

According to several studies and research, purple garlic from Pedroñeras is the one with the highest content of sulphur compounds. "It is the best garlic by far," says Juan Jesús Arellano, producer of Cooperativa San Isidro el Santo, from Las Pedroñeras, in the Spanish province of Cuenca.

"We obtain this garlic thanks to the microclimate of the region, as it is located in quite a high plateau. Temperatures range from -5 and even -15º Celsius in the winter to 40º in the summer, making the acclimatisation of plants quite hard and forcing them to become stronger by taking more minerals and sulphur, which leads to a superior product."

"This year, the fresh garlic market is a little stagnant, with lower prices and demand, maybe because of the economic recession," explains Juan Jesús. "The production volume is more or less the same, with a 1% growth compared to last year."

Cooperativa San Isidro's garlic plantation in Las Pedroñeras

Regarding the competition with Chinese garlic, Juan Jesús says that "China produces much more garlic and has always sold it at lower prices, which has increased their market share. In any case, we rely on quality to compete with them, because besides the requirements imposed by the EU, we apply even stricter quality control policies to our crops."

However, Chinese garlic is more expensive than the Spanish one this year, and this, according to Juan Jesús, is because China is preventing its garlic to enter the market due to lower production volumes. "The price for our garlics is not rising and many are holding on to them."

For more information:
Jose Manuel Cerezo (manager)
Cooperativa San Isidro el Santo
Avda Sebastian Molina 4 Las Pedroñeras ,Cuenca. Spain.
T+34967160111
M+34 608 725 902
jmcerezo@sanisidroelsanto.com