Spanish producers of berries put the domestic market in the spotlight
The Spanish berries industry may be very concentrated in selling to other European countries, but a representative of the industry of the main producing region, Huelva, now hopes to boost the home business.
The association Freshuelva reported that around 15-20% of strawberry production is sold in the domestic market, but the figure is much lower in the case of blueberries, raspberries and blackberries.
"Only one 5% of the production of these products is sold in Spain, so we really want to boost the consumption of these three berries, we believe there is a significant potential", Said the general manager of the association, Rafael Dominguez to Portalfruticola.
He said that the industry would be carrying out strong promotional campaigns on the benefits of these fruits for health, and at the same time, to increase the knowledge of consumers in this regard.
Dominguez also stressed that while strawberries had been in the country for a long time, there was no "culture" of the other three berries, as they were much newer.
Apart from Spain, Scandinavia is another key area in Europe for the Huelva berries industry that is aiming for growth.
The strawberry season has come to an end, and Domínguez expects volumes to reach a similar level to last year, with about 300.000 MT produced on some 5.500 hectares.
"The campaign has been in line with last year. Early varieties have been offsetting production, there were no large peaks. We will get the exact numbers soon, but the production seems to be similarr, "he said, adding that the bad weather in the first part of 2017 had caused some difficulties for the producers.
Spanish berries producers have a relatively empty European market when the season starts, Dominguez said, but competition increases with France and Italy in the second quarter.
Some 12.000 TM raspberries were produced last year from January to June, and the representative said that production was slightly higher in January and February of this year. The season is coming to an end, with around 10-15% to harvest.
Cranberry production was slightly higher with around 14.000 TM, but Dominguez said that this figure would increase rapidly since many of the plantations were new and would enter full production in the next two or three years.
The production of blackberries was much smaller with 1.500 metric tons.
In addition, he noted that the Ministry of Agriculture of Spain is also working to gain access to the Chinese market.
Source: Fruit Portal
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