So far, Green Valley Berries (GVB) has focused all its efforts on Kwanza raspberries. Practically 90% of the 15 hectares that the company has in production are dedicated to the cultivation of this variety. It is the flagship product of this young horticultural company from Huelva, which was established in 2012. This will be the line of action that the company will maintain during the next years, as it is part of the Terra Agricola distributor from Murcia, which is the Spanish subsidiary of the powerful English group Rodanto.
However, the new production and marketing needs being generated in the agricultural farm of GVB, in Villablanca, are propitiating a process of diversification that has enabled them to plant other varieties of raspberries, such as Glen Lyon, of Eurosemillas, and Enrosadira, of Vivai Molari, in plastic macro-tunnels in 10% of the total area.
The Manager of Green Valley Berries, Francisco González, stated: "we have opted for the Glen Lyon variety for winter and the Enrosadira variety because it is a very early variety. We can cover the lower production periods of the Kwanza variety with these varieties, which allows us to have the workers operating for a longer time, so we can consolidate our team."
The company's gradual growth in berries from Huelva is being supported and endorsed with the two quality certifications that are renewed each campaign, such as the Global GAP certification, which they increased with the GRASP module last season, and the BRC Food certification. This campaign, the company also achieved the Zerya certification. This certificate is a guarantee that their products don't have residues and are cultivated with environmental awareness on the use and control of agricultural resources.
Green Valley Berries has also decided to increase the varietal range of raspberries because of their recent incorporation to Efloba, a new marketer of soft fruit that was set up in Huelva in 2016 and that, in addition to GVB, is integrated by the companies: Baldifresa, Floporan, Frescapricho and Erilla Fruit.
According to Francisco Gonzalez, "We entered the group as specialists in raspberries, contributing our experience." "Joining Efloba is an opportunity to become bigger. We aspire to have strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries in our plantations in the short and medium term, and now we can take advantage of this union to start from a consolidated base," he added.
Green Valley Berries' Colombo farm has an area of approximately 40 hectares. According to the manager of GVB, "the goal is to increase the farm's productive capacity by 10% each year. During the 2017/2018 season, the cultivated area has grown by about 4 hectares and the forecast is that in five years the total area will be consolidated."
Green Valley Berries, which produces around 250 tons of raspberries per year, also has its own nursery where it produces Kwanza plants.
In addition, GVB also has an experimental field where the company develops its research and development and where they test new varieties of strawberry, raspberry, and blackberry. "The data we obtain in these tests allow us to decide on new bets for the future," Gonzalez said.
Source: agrodiariohuelva.es