During the 2011/2012 campaign, Candonga plantations accounted for almost 34% of Huelva's strawberry production. Today, five years later, they only account for 3% of the production; about 250 hectares. However, there are still cooperatives and growers in this province who continue to bet on a variety that was bred by Plantas de Navarra (Planasa) on its experimental farm of Cartaya, and which the Huelva strawberry sector first introduced in 2004.
One of those faithful to the Candonga variety is Juan Pérez Oliva, owner of Frescarily SL, a family business based in Palos de la Frontera which has been devoted to the production and marketing of berries (strawberries and blueberries), citrus fruits (mandarins) and persimmons for the past 35 years.
Both the productive area (about 40 hectares) and the fruit handling warehouse are located in the area of 'La Cañá'. To deal with the current strawberry campaign, the firm has planted 2,300,000 plants of four different varieties: Fortuna, Primoris, Rociera and Candonga.
Pérez Oliva explains that "we have cultivated the Candonga practically since Planasa first brought it to the market. I remember that we only stopped planting it for one campaign, and we have kept it ever since, because we find it interesting, because it is a quality strawberry that does not need to be promoted; it is sold without any effort. It is the first one to be sold and if we had more, we would also sell them to our customers, who are mainly located in the UK and Germany."
The first Candonga strawberries that they marketed this campaign were harvested in late February and early March, adding that "we will continue harvesting them for as long as the price holds, although we always try to reach the end of May or the beginning of June. This year we have signed a contract with an English supermarket chain until 10 June."
Regarding the future of this variety among Huelva's producers, Juan Pérez Oliva has no doubts: this fruit has its place in the market, but everything depends on the consumer. "If it is marketed just like any other strawberry, if you are going to sell it in bulk, it does not make sense, because it won't be profitable; however, if it becomes popular and the customer seeks its extraordinary flavour, quality and organoleptic characteristics, the choice of cultivating Candonga can be very interesting. But to achieve this goal, it is a priority for consumers to know what they are buying, what they are bringing home."
The agricultural entrepreneur adds that in order to achieve this, it is essential for each producer and each cooperative "to differentiate their varieties in their marketing processes and for each of them to have its own price."
In addition to a bright red colour and long post-harvest, Pérez Oliva highlights the Candonga's uniformity throughout the campaign. "It's a perfect strawberry for picking, because you do not need to go skipping; they all have the same size, which makes them ideal for special packaging. The normal strawberry is always sold out. It's the one they prefer in England."
Although he understands why many producers face the campaign with only two varieties, "because why would you want to grow a late variety when prices stand between 0.70 or 0.80 Euro," when you have been selling strawberries since December and they have reached super-decent prices, it becomes clear, according to Juan Pérez Oliva, that the Candonga "has to have its place in Huelva's strawberry campaign, because it is intended for a select market which has learned to appreciate it."
In this sense, he points out that, in order to promote this variety, it would be necessary to enforce a regulation of the strawberry sector, because "why would I want to obtain a kilo of strawberries per plant to sell it for 70 cents, with all the expenses we have, when I can get double that figure harvesting just 500 grams. It seems to me that the sector needs some accurate guidelines as regards varieties and grams, as well as more control on the marketing flow of strawberries, in order to prevent supermarkets from having such a huge impact on prices. The problem is that there are many of us and each one adheres to the philosophy that interests them the most."
Source: agrodiariohuelva.es
