The Valencian Association of Farmers (AVA-ASAJA) and the Association of Avocado Producers (ASOPROA) announced at a promotional event held in La Marina de València that this local product was already available throughout the whole year because the different varieties that are grown in the territory (Hass, Fuerte, Lamb Hass, Reed, Bacon, and Maluma) cover the entire annual calendar.
The announcement was part of the Molt de Gust campaign that is promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture, which aims to promote the commercial positioning and consumption of quality and organic products from the Valencian Community to protect its heritage and to create a cuisine based on the story behind the product, AVA-ASAJA stated.
"The Valencian Community already has 2,800 hectares planted with avocados. This product is gaining prominence in European markets because of the added value it offers from the point of view of proximity, food security, and respect for the environment."
The producer associations promote the product under the slogan "Avocados from Valencia, the world's most sustainable avocados". According to representatives of AVA-ASAJA and ASOPROA, the Valencian avocado meets all the strict quality standards of the European Union (the most demanding standards in the world). Moreover, this crop has a lower carbon footprint because of its proximity and because it hardly consumes the same amount of water as citrus crops, they added.
The Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development, Roger Llanes, stressed the importance of carrying out promotional actions to boost the consumption of Valencian products such as the one that came about thanks to the collaboration between the Ministry of Agriculture, AVA-ASAJA, and ASOPROA. "The avocado that we produce has a series of differential characteristics that make it particularly attractive and we must make them public so that people can enjoy them," he said. "We are talking about a local Valencian seasonal product that is much more beneficial to the environment," he added.
Source: avaasaja.org