The first DiraFresh strawberries from Morocco arrived at Belgian company Nicolai Fruit this week. “DiraFresh was established in 2011,” says Johan De Gendt. “It was the brainchild of Nicolai Fruit and frozen food expert Dirafrost. Dirafrost has been cultivating strawberries in Morocco since 1994 and after successfully marketing some fresh strawberries last winter we decided to invest in some large tunnels over there. Right now we have 15 hectares of tunnels and are able to supply customers with early produce.”
Johan is positive about the future: “I visited Larache last week to see – and taste – the strawberries for myself and I have to say: they are delicious. The plants already had their share of sunlight and it shows. The next six weeks will see the ‘Festival’ variety. After that we’ll see the Camarosa, the Splendor and the Amiga.”
Johan de Gendt and Noureddine Bakkali
“Thanks to vertical integration the strawberries are perfectly traceable, from the land to the stores. The pallets are sealed under a modified atmosphere, leading to better shelf life. Transportation starts in Larache, with double-manned vehicles.”
“The whole production is completely GlobalGap certified and the organisation has an official BSCI seal of approval, guaranteeing an ethical supply chain. DiraFresh strawberries are cultivated in a sustainable way: ecological, economical and ethical.”
More information here
The available packages are 16 x 250g, 10 x 250g , 10 x 400g and 10 x 500g.
For more information:
Johan De Gendt
Nicolaï Fruit n.v.
Schuurhovenveld 3124
3800 Sint-Truiden - België
T: + 32 (0)11 69 55 55
F: + 32 (0)11 69 55 56
[email protected]
www.nicolaifruit.be