Twenty five years ago Jan van Bergeijk was still running a raspberry plant nursery in the Netherlands. He saw opportunities for the early raspberry cultivation in the Spanish soft fruit region Huelva and travelled there to taste the cultivation. This is how the first hectare of raspberries was created in Spain. Now the Spanish area has extended to around 1,200 hectares. Jan himself has 20 hectares of raspberries and 15 hectares of strawberries. His company has been a member of Plusberries for a few years now, which includes four companies which are specialised in strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries. The Dutchman is commercially responsible for the raspberries within the group.
"Starting in Spain was difficult. People didn't know the product and found it difficult to take the word of a random Dutch person at first, but step by step the raspberry cultivation in Spain has grown," says Jan. The varieties have developed a lot over the years. Main varieties for Frutas Remolino are Adelita, Tulameen and Glen Lyon. Thanks to an improved cold chain and new varieties the raspberries are now available all year round. This season a lot of strawberry growers, after two consecutive bad years for prices, switched to raspberry cultivation, but the grower doesn't expect this to happen again this year. "Last year was an average year. You always have good and bad months. At the moment the availability isn't that big and prices are good."
"In Spain growers switch from strawberries to raspberries fairly impulsively and the switch isn't difficult. The area of blueberries is also increasing, but it takes longer before those plants are in production and for blackberries the availability of planting material isn't that great, whereas the demand is present," says Jan. He doesn't believe the supply of soft fruit is too big. "A lot of cooking programmes on TV pay a lot of attention to soft fruit, the consumption is on the rise and has a lot more growing potential. Of course we have to be as strong as possible for a good quality, but it's a natural product and sometimes there are bad weather conditions. Despite this we do everything we can to improve the varieties."
"The preferences per country are very different in this. In the Netherlands they want Elsanta and prefer a soft strawberry, but here in Spain they want a larger crunchy type, such as Candonga and Splendor. You couldn't even grow Elsanta here in Spain." He doesn't see the increasing area of greenhouse strawberries in the Netherlands as a threat. "I know what this cultivation costs. It's a different segment from the one we're in. We have more competition from Morocco and Egypt. I'm not afraid of the competition from Mexico. They have a huge market with the United States."
Frutas Remolino's soft fruit mainly finds its way to European destinations like France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Scandinavia. "We also sell to faraway destinations such as India, Dubai and Singapore, but are careful about it. Air freight costs a lot of money and if the amount paid isn't that positive I'd prefer to sell on the European markets. There is still enough potential there."
He believes the low strawberry prices of the past two years can be explained. "Last year Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium were on the market very early due to the warm weather. This means you can't do much in those countries and what is left is impossible for the local Spanish market to absorb. If these countries had been a month later, like they usually are, the year would have been very different."
He believes the low strawberry prices of the past two years can be explained. "Last year Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium were on the market very early due to the warm weather. This means you can't do much in those countries and what is left is impossible for the local Spanish market to absorb. If these countries had been a month later, like they usually are, the year would have been very different."
Jan is optimistic about the future. "Retailers want to buy straight from the source. This is why it's so good that you're a producer. The biggest challenge is to supply all products all year round and every variety has its own guidelines for this. And even then you're sometimes surprised." Jan certainly doesn't regret his 25 year stay in Spain. "If I had to choose, I'd do it all again."
For more information:
Frutas Remolino
Jan van Bergeijk
T +34 609 01 66 54
Raspberry@plusberries.com
www.plusberries.com
For more information:
Frutas Remolino
Jan van Bergeijk
T +34 609 01 66 54
Raspberry@plusberries.com
www.plusberries.com