Almeria, with 30,000 hectares of greenhouse acreage, is starting to struggle to grow in terms of volume and to achieve this, marketers need to colonise new territories to improve in terms of concentration of supply, market share, product range and the possibility of expanding the cycle.
For this reason, Almeria's agriculture has slowly (and without making much noise) been moving into the neighbouring Costa Tropical of Granada and into the highest area of La Alpujarra.
Three companies, Femago, La Unión and Unica Group, have gradually consolidated their presence in recent years as regards the harvest and sale of products from Granada-based producers, and the sector itself reveals that this trend will continue in the next campaigns. The coast of Granada is very focused on avocados, cherimoyas and papayas and also has areas devoted to cucumbers and cherry tomatoes that have been expanding.
Although the coast, with 4,000 hectares devoted to vegetables, has more limited possibilities for expansion, the interior, with a different climate, creates opportunities to combine crops.
Alhóndiga La Unión, the company controlled by the Barranco family, is one of the firms betting the most on the neighbouring fields, where it has four marketing centres.
Since last year, its commercial infrastructure has included facilities in El Puntalón (Motril), Castell, Carchuna and Castillo de Baños. This is the most important fruit and vegetable production area in the province of Granada. This commitment to Granada allowed La Unión last year to obtain over 4 billion kilos of vegetables from more than 30,000 growers.
Costa and Alpujarra
The Femago Group was the pioneer in crossing the provincial limits, taking over the Granada-based marketing company Agrocastell back in 2004. From this location, Femago also exerts its influence in Carchuna, Castillo de Baños, Bérchules and Mecina Bombarón, allowing it to produce all year round.
Cucumber production is its flagship product and amounts to 15 million kilos. The second-grade cooperative Unicagroup also has its marketing arm on the neighbouring coast, with El Grupo, based in Castell.
Source: lavozdealmeria.es
