"I don't think prices will be affected by the expansion in the strawberry acreage"

While the acreages devoted to berries has grown by 11% this year, those intended for strawberry cultivation have increased by around 9% after several years of decline, as recently reported by Freshuelva. According to the association of producers, this trend change has been caused by the blueberry oversupply recorded last year, which put prices under pressure.

According to Carlos Cumbreras, manager of the Grufesa cooperative that manages around 470 hectares of strawberries, with an annual volume of around 18 million kilos, this should not be a cause for concern for this year's strawberry campaign.

"Some less profitable blueberry plantations have been replanted with strawberries, although this is not easy to do from one year to the next. I don't believe that this year's prices will be negatively affected by the expansion in the strawberry acreage, since without taking into account some specific times in festive periods, the supply and the market demand are in good balance," he explains. "Last year we had a very good campaign."

The strawberry campaign has again started early this year for the Moguer-based cooperative, which has been betting for three years on extra-early varieties such as the San Andreas. "We started marketing the first strawberries at the beginning of November, so we were one of the first to hit the market. This allows us to start working earlier with our customers," says Carlos Cumbreras, manager of Grufesa.

Although during the Christmas celebrations the production was greater due to the high temperatures, in these moments the situation is very different, with more stability in the market.

"The fall in temperatures a week and a half ago has caused production to go back to normal after being too high for the time of the year we were in. At the moment, we have smaller volumes than last week. This has resulted in the price pressure recorded in the first week of January to be reduced already," says Carlos Cumbreras. "Now we are in the winter months, when the volumes usually remain stable until March, when production will peak," he adds.

The varieties currently being harvested are the Fortuna, Primoris and Rociera. 70% of Grufesa's strawberries are varieties developed in Huelva in the framework of the FNM program, mainly the Primoris and Rociera. "Worthy of note is the vertiginous growth of the Rociera, since in less than two years it has gone from non-existent to one of the leading varieties in the market, mostly thanks to its taste and production qualities," says Carlos Cumbreras.

First campaign with raspberries
Recently, the Moguer-based cooperative launched its new brand for raspberries: Ms Ruby. The product has been added to its berry range and marketed for the first time this season. "In addition to the Adelita variety, we have the Versailles and the Paris, which we started marketing in December. With this brand, we want to give more personality to our work. Is is joining our Mr Blue brand for blueberries and the Hannah for strawberries."

Grufesa will sell its raspberries taking advantage of the distribution channels it has for strawberries (which remain its leading product), in order to supply its European customers with an ever more complete range of berries.

"The United Kingdom is currently our main destination for the raspberries. It is the berry consumer par excellence, very receptive to the added value we provide in terms of packaging and presentation. We are also having good opportunities in Germany. The domestic market is not yet representative in comparison with the business volume we achieve from exports, but we are growing little by little."

For more information:
Carlos Cumbreras
Grufesa
T: +34 959 372335
T: +34 959 372346
info@grufesa.com
sales@grufesa.com
www.grufesa.com