Huelva's early greenhouse stone fruit campaign has developed with little competition and good prices so far.
"We have faced considerably fewer problems than in other years," explains José Antonio Martín, manager of Agromartín, of the Plus Berries group. "We thought that we were very late in the harvest, but in fact, we have arrived quite early compared to Murcia and Seville, so this has helped us face less competition and given us more room in the market to sell our fruit. Our production is grown in greenhouses, so it has not been affected by rain or hail," he said.
Agromartín has already finished marketing peaches and will continue with pavias (or yellow peaches) and black and yellow plums until 12 June.
According to José Antonio Martín, prices have been similar to those obtained last year. It is true, however, that prices have not fallen in May, which is what usually happens in that month. "We are finishing the campaign with problems to mee all the demand. Contrary to what we saw last season, there is a shortage of fruit at the moment, and it seems that this situation will continue throughout the month of May, at least until Extremadura and Lleida arrive. Besides, the cherry campaign is also very delayed, and this is usually a product that competes with stone fruit."
Plus Berries is a group of companies, each of them specialised in different products of their own production, including all kinds of berries and stone fruit throughout the Spanish campaign. Moreover, it is able to supply plums all year round thanks to an overseas partner. Broccoli has been the latest addition to the portfolio, thanks to the partners based in Badajoz.
Agromartín is specialised in strawberry and stone fruit and distributes its fruit nationally and internationally, shipping to the countries of the European Union. "The stone fruit grown in greenhouses is sold as Premium, since in addition to having slightly larger calibres, it does not show bruises or stains, or suffer friction due to the wind. It looks as if it had been polished," he says.
More information:
José Antonio Martín
S.A.T.Plus Berries/ Agromartín
T: +34 959504454
M: +34 637723120
strawberry@plusberries.com
www.plusberries.com