The Spanish avocado season is slowly approaching its final stages. This is happening earlier than on other occasions, which will likely result in a tighter transition to the overseas campaign.
"This domestic season has been one of the shortest I can remember. Last spring's weather caused this year's avocado harvest not to be very abundant, while the demand has increased," says Antonio Fernando Prados, manager of the Malaga-based company Axarquía Tropical, which is specialized in the marketing of tropical fruits. "We are practically finishing already, while in other years the campaign has lasted until the end of April and even May," he says.
It had already been announced some time ago that the Spanish campaign was going to finish early, so this year Peru has also started shipping its fruit to Europe earlier, says the manager of the company, who expects the arrival of the first maritime shipments of Peruvian avocados within a week. However, he also says that only the fruit that has a minimum fat content to ensure a proper ripening can be shipped, so "there will likely be shortages for a few weeks and prices are expected to reach even higher levels," he says.
Besides, the month of Ramadan is around the corner and the market is always strongly affected by it. "In Morocco, where avocados are highly consumed, sales shoot up when Ramadan begins, and this year it will coincide with the period when there will be the greatest shortage of fruit in the market".
Loquat season starts and there is a good market for sweet potatoes
Besides avocados, Axarquia Tropical is also fully immersed in the sweet potato import campaign. In Spain, this tuber is produced mainly in the province of Cadiz. "Spain's stored supplies are running out. Egypt, which is an important producer for the European market, also has a low stock, so we depend on the United States and other South American producing countries," says Antonio. "Right now we are seeing an upturn in the sweet potato market. Of course, it is a much more standard product than avocados, with more affordable prices, but it is still an interesting product with a constantly growing demand."
At the same time, the first loquats are starting to arrive at the company's facilities. This fruit is another of the firm's main products, despite its very limited marketing period. "The loquat campaign kicks off at the end of March or beginning of April and only lasts for two months. It is a very intense campaign, with a lot of pressure on prices, as they start at quite high levels, but drop quickly. The fruit ripens quickly on the tree and the pace of harvesting and sales have to be adapted to that," says Antonio Fernando.
"Avocados can be stored for several days, but loquats cannot. That generates stress and puts lots of pressure on the fruit's trade." In fact, these factors are causing many loquat growers to switch to other tropical crops, such as avocados or mangoes, which also have a larger market share.
In the Axarquia area, the loquat production arrives earlier than in other Spanish producing regions (with Alicante standing out the most), which gives them an interesting advantage in the market. "We are not that far ahead, only 2 or 3 weeks, but in a campaign that lasts 8 weeks, this means marketing a good part of the production at good prices," he says.
Despite the campaign's intensity, the company, based in the municipality of Torrox, markets its loquats in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands.
Mangoes are the latest great product for Axarquia Tropical. The campaign in Spain starts in August.
Growth prospects
The company is present in most European markets, where it works with wholesalers and supermarket chains, and has its own brands "Sabor" and "Bravo, made in Spain"; however, it aims to continue growing.
Antonio Fernando says that "in the short-term, we are planning the introduction of new products in our sales lines, aiming to attract new customers in specific markets. The pandemic has not caused any kind of decline in our sales or in the demand for our products. In general terms, I think it has remained stable or even increased."
For more information:
Antonio Fernando Prados (manager)
Axarquía Tropical
Almacén Hermanos Salvatierra
Arroyo Manzano
C/ Peñuelas 2
29793 Torrox Costa
Malaga, Spain
M: +34 616 444 740
antoniofernando@axarquiatropical.com
www.axarquiatropical.com
Patricia Romero (Export & Import representative)
M: +34 665 535 132
patricia@axarquiatropical.com
comercial@axarquiatropical.com