According to Jorge Bretó, Chief Executive Officer of post-harvest solutions specialist Citrosol, unfavorable weather conditions have caused significant quality challenges for citrus, vegetables, and other produce in the 2024/2025 season. In this context, specialized post-harvest solutions, such as Citrosol's innovative CATsystem, which is setting a precedent in the evolution of automated precision post-harvest, play a key role. The company, which grew stronger after the fire in 2023, plans to continue having significant global growth.
"The 2024/2025 season has been quite complex from a climatological point of view. Heavy rains, especially in October, due to the DANA, and in spring, significantly affected the quality of the fruit," Jorge Bretó said. "In our experience, great challenges often generate great opportunities. Citrosol is known for its rigorous control of post-harvest processes, which allow us to add value precisely in a context where the initial quality of the fruit requires specialized solutions."
© Citrosol
The company has a 40% to 45% market share in the Spanish citrus sector. In the last five years, Citrosol has experienced remarkable international growth, strengthening its presence in various markets and achieving sustained growth. Currently, more than 55% of its turnover comes from abroad, reflecting a solid and constantly evolving international strategy.
"This growth has been accompanied by the implementation of our own structures in different countries, which allows us to offer a closer, more agile service adapted to local needs. We have operational subsidiaries in Peru, South Africa, and Uruguay, as well as our own staff in Egypt, which reinforces our ability to act directly," Bretó said.
"Peru, South Africa, and Egypt are growing markets. We are also seeing good results in Chile, where our most recent entry already presents a positive commercial evolution. Potential for development in Asia is very high. We have opened new markets in Indonesia and Vietnam, and strengthened our presence in India and Thailand, consolidating our position in a strategic region for the future," he stressed.
It has been almost two years since a fire caused serious damage to the company's facilities, from which it has emerged strongly reinforced. "The fire and the months that followed were particularly difficult. There were times we didn't know if we could meet all our orders. In addition, we were in the middle of the process of integrating the staff from Fomesa-Brogdex, acquired months earlier," Bretó said.
"Despite the unfortunate nature of the event, we learned valuable lessons. We were able to rebuild the facilities devastated by the fire in record time. We also invested heavily to upgrade the rest of the facilities. Today, we can say, without a doubt, that we have come out stronger. We have a more efficient, safer infrastructure that is ready for the growth we anticipate in the coming years."
"CATsystem sets a precedent in the evolution of precision post-harvesting"
"At Citrosol, we have always been firmly committed to the development and improvement of application systems, within the concept of precision post-harvest. The CATsystem was born from this philosophy, to automate and control in real time the concentrations of the different active ingredients used in the treatments," the company representative stated.
This system allows optimizing the control of rotting, which translates into significant economic savings for the customer, thanks to the reduction of losses and claims. It also facilitates the implementation of resistance control strategies when working with a single active ingredient, and allows for detecting dosing failures and human errors. "It's been an ambitious project, in which we have invested significant material and human resources for several years," he added.
The system has been very popular since it was launched in October 2024, at the international Fruit Attraction fair. "During this time, we have installed the CATsystem at several customers, who have expressed a high degree of satisfaction with its operation. It allows excellent control of the first treatment the fruit receives when it arrives at the processing facility, a key factor in achieving the best possible results in rot control."
"Post-harvest management today is inconceivable without the support of technology. It used to be based exclusively on the operator's experience and manual adjustments. Now, it's being transformed by digitalization, which allows us to carry out a much more precise, automated, and safe control of treatments," he stressed.
"We are convinced that the CATsystem is a disruptive innovation that sets a precedent in the evolution of the global post-harvest. It also proves that Citrosol is at the forefront of this transformation, integrating its deep knowledge in chemistry with advanced digital tools, to offer more effective post-harvest solutions adapted to the demands of the sector," he stressed.
For more information:
Marina Orihuel
Citrosol
Partida Alameda parc. C.
46721 Potries, Valencia. Spain.
Email: [email protected]
www.citrosol.com
