Aromatic plants, truffles, and now, tropical fruits; these are three examples of attempts by producers of the Region of Murcia to conquer markets with new products and to be able to compete in the increasingly global world of the sale of fruits and other agricultural products. Two companies, Grupo Durán, in Mazarrón, and Urcisol, in Águilas, have opted for papayas and mangoes.
The agricultural group Durán is involved in a pioneering project to produce and sell tropical fruits produced in the Region of Murcia to the rest of Europe. Papayas and mangoes are two of these fruits; certainly not common in Murcian fields.
José Miguel Durán, CEO of Grupo Durán, assures that the fruit is "very much appreciated in European countries and generates greater profit margins than other traditional products in the area." In fact, when Grupo Durán was founded by Miguel Durán, it started cultivating tomatoes.
This new project for the production of tropical fruits, marketed under the 'Molintrop' brand, is being developed on farms with facilities covering 10,000 square metres, where they receive, handle and store both stone fruit and tropical fruits.
"In this first stage, we are focusing on the quality and homogeneity of the fruit to later boost production on a larger scale," explains Durán.
1,200 tonnes in three years
The goal is to obtain 1,200 tonnes before 2020; an initiative in which they plan to invest more than one million Euro, states the CEO.
At present, this Agricultural Group is devoted to the production and marketing of citrus fruits, extra-early stone fruit and tropical fruits like mangoes and papayas, having become one of the pioneering companies of the sector in Spain in this latter category.
For its part, the family company Urcisol, based in Águila, with Alfonso García Zapata in the lead, produces mangoes on 26 hectares and the crop shares the land with stone fruit, citrus and table grapes, among others.