Spain: "Since January, the demand for 'berries' has been greater than the supply"
There has been talk of a shortage in the berry market for some time. «The year has started with another reasonable production, but in mid-January, supply has been low and prices have been high. The supply of raspberries is especially scarce. The same is true for strawberries, although volumes are now starting to increase. Due to the early start of the campaign, the price of strawberries has been slightly lower than last year, but has remained stable for a long time. In terms of quality, the campaign is developing without problems », explains Roberto Latorre, from the Spanish berry producer Surexport, in Almonte, Huelva.
The general tendency in Huelva for many producers is to switch to the cultivation of raspberries and blueberries, but, as far as the company is concerned, Surexport expanded its production of strawberries last year. «This is the result of many years of investments in our exclusive varieties. Choosing these varieties appears to have been a good decision that has given us the ability to grow crops at a time when the global strawberry acreage is shrinking.".
Cropping in Morocco also seems to be on the rise and will continue for the moment, according to Latorre. «We also have our own crops in Morocco and Kenya. We are currently working with raspberries from our growing project in Kenya and will continue to focus on our line of exclusive varieties from Spain and Morocco. The crop in Kenya is going very well. In terms of quality, it is a good product, but it is also subject to shortages. We expect larger volumes again in mid-April.".
Blueberries
In recent months, Surexport has been importing Chilean blueberries. «Last week, we received the last container and now we will continue the season with Morocco and Spain, which will offer the fruit until the end of May. The Chilean season has been quite good. At first, prices were sky-high and many shipments arrived by air; "Later, the market sank a little and there was some pressure on prices, but, in any case, our programs have developed very well."concludes Latorre.
Source: Freshplaza.es
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