The Peruvian avocado campaign is already underway for the Spanish firm Grupo Alcoaxarquía, which will soon start the first harvests of the Valencian Community, where it recently inaugurated its Alcoaxarquía Levante facilities. The company has also just announced the opening of Alcoaxarquía Morocco, as part of its continuous expansion.
“Last week we received the first containers of Peruvian Hass avocado in Europe. This year, we expect to bring 30% more Peruvian avocado and reach 500 containers,” stated Jose Antonio Alconchel, CEO of Grupo Alcoaxarquía. Fortunately, when we started loading the first containers, the socio-political situation of the country was stabilizing, so we did not have any mishaps.”
Alcoaxarquía Peru's packaging plant.
According to Jose Antonio Alconchel, the Peruvian harvest, which this year started earlier in some areas, is expected to be about 12% bigger than in the previous season. "Last year there was an abundance of large calibers. This year, we expect a higher uniformity in sizes, which will allow us to be more competitive in the markets,” he added.
“Moreover, we've noticed that this year there are fewer intermediaries, which means the Peruvian production will be marketed by more professional hands. We will also play with the competitive advantage that the 50% drop in freight prices, and their continuous downward trend, gives us. It's something that will be beneficial for all parts of the value chain.”
The group directly manages Peruvian production through Alcoaxarquía Peru. “This allows us to fully control the quality of production - we even manufacture the fertilizers according to our requirements - handling, and marketing to be able to bring avocados with optimal dry matter levels. It allows us to mature the fruits correctly so that the conventional and organic avocados have the same quality standards as the Spanish product to the point that our customers do not even notice any difference. We have recently, finally achieved biodynamic certification for European markets, especially for Germany.”
“Spanish avocado prices have been too high”
The Spanish avocado campaign has been characterized by very high prices due to the nearly 40% decrease in production. “Perhaps prices have been too high, as there has been a lot of speculation. This has impeded sales and has resulted in other third-party origins gaining ground,” Jose Antonio Alconchel stated.
The harvest of the Lamb Hass variety in the Valencian Community will begin next week. Last year, the group inaugurated Alcoaxarquía Levante in Sollana (Valencia) for the reception, handling, and shipment of avocados. Despite the entry into production of younger plantations, Valencia's avocado production is also lower this year, due to lower yields.
“We have reached an agreement with AVA-ASAJA, ASOPROA, and IVIA to collaborate on a project to improve the management of avocado production and its ripening in the Valencian Community so as to achieve greater homogeneity,” the CEO of Grupo Alcoaxarquía stated.
Expansion in Morocco with the opening of Alcoaxarquía Maroc
The group continues its expansion with the opening of Alcoaxarquía Maroc, which has plantations and processing and packaging facilities.
"The Moroccan harvest, which starts some 15 days before the Spanish harvest, will strengthen our volume guaranteeing we have a continuous supply available for our customers that has the same quality as the rest of our origins. Our Moroccan production will have the same quality and social responsibility certifications as our production in Spain,” Jose Antonio Alconchel stated.
For more information:
José Antonio Alconchel 
Grupo Alcoaxarquía
M: +34 607396517
T: +34 951 33 39 34
[email protected]
www.alcoaxarquia.com