The First Red Fruits Congress, which will address issues such as current trends in cultivation, promotion in Europe, marketing and the nutritional properties of berries, has kicked off in Huelva. Exports in this sector, which includes strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries, have experienced a 7.7% growth in the first four months compared with the same period in 2014, totalling 228,517 tonnes.
The official opening of the Congress counted with the participation of the Councillor of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development, Carmen Ortiz Rivas; the President of the Cajasol Foundation, Antonio Pulido; the president of Freshuelva, Alberto Garrocho; the mayor of Huelva, Gabriel Cruz, and the Government delegate in Huelva, Enrique Pérez Viguera.
The conferences featured include "Current trends in red fruit farming systems", "Promoting strawberries and berries in Europe", "Keys to the marketing of red fruits", "Industrial processes for berries; agro-food innovation", " The nutritional properties of berries (strawberry, raspberry, blackberry and blueberry)" and "Marketing and retail distribution of strawberries and other red fruits".
The event, organised by the Cajasol Institute for Studies in partnership with Freshuelva, will also feature business presentations, which will take place in the exhibitors hall and where companies in the sector will showcase their products and activities.
According to Alberto Garrotxo, president of FRESHUELVA, an association integrated in FEPEX, the Congress will serve to "see where we want to get with Huelva's berries, which are emerging as an alternative to the strawberry saturation which the European markets have been suffering for a few campaigns," and consequently "new market outlets have been sought to make these berries profitable."
Red fruit exports have recorded a positive development in recent years. Between January and April 2015, strawberry, raspberry, blueberry and blackberry exports totalled 228,517 tonnes, compared to 212,148 tonnes in the same period of 2014, which is an increase of 7.7%. In value terms, exports totalled 477.8 million Euro, 21.7% more than in the first quarter of 2014.
In this period, the export of strawberries stood at 207,265 tonnes (+9%) amounting to EUR 407.4 million (+21%). Raspberry exports totalled 13,448 tonnes (+39%) worth 100 million Euro (+31%). Blueberry exports amounted to 7,176 tonnes (+6.6%) worth EUR 71 million (+12%) and blackberries reached 628 tonnes (+54%) worth 3.3 million Euro (+38%), according to the latest data (up to April) supplied by the Department of Customs and Special Taxes of the Ministry of Economy, processed by FEPEX.
