"Spain: Campaign to begin with "zero waste" strawberries"

Huelva's strawberry sector, which dominates 94% of Spain's total production of the fruit, will start a new "zero waste" product line, with strawberries cultivated using biological pest control techniques and no specific phytosanitary treatments.

The president of the Association of Producers and Exporters of Strawberries from Huelva (Freshuelva), Alberto Garrocho, stressed the importance of this new line, which will start off with around 7,000 tonnes of strawberries which will be shipped to the domestic and EU markets.

The company Fresón de Palos, with approximately 1,100 hectares of plantations, is the one responsible for this project, which is the result of three years testing aimed at "meeting the increasingly higher demand, especially from European consumers, for strawberries cultivated using biological pest control."

This year, the sector will cultivate strawberries making use of these techniques in approximately 50 hectares, with the idea of "gradually increasing the production volumes," although he admitted this will be due to the levels of demand. The goal, emphasised Garrocho, is "to obtain quality strawberries grown with natural products in an environmentally-friendly manner."

Source: Europapress.es