The raspberry campaign is about to start in Huelva with the first early harvests. "Everything is going well in terms of quantity and quality, according to our forecasts," says Francisco Sánchez, manager of Onubafruit, which estimates the upcoming production at around 12,000 tons.
“This company is at the forefront when it comes to raspberry production and marketing, mostly because we have very good exclusive varieties and enough producers to work with them. Some may think that having many growers can be difficult and harmful, but it is certainly one of our biggest assets. Supermarket chains continue to grow and expand, so they need larger suppliers that can guarantee a reliable supply. We are seeing how intermediation can be affected by a shortage of growers,” says the manager of this company.
Although the competition from Portugal and Morocco was a surprise for Spanish raspberry producers last year, Francisco Sánchez does not believe that they will take away the leading position that the Spanish production has earned. “Portugal's production generally arrives later than ours and the climatic conditions there make it more difficult to grow this product, while Morocco, in addition to having at least one day longer shipping times than Spain, has a very unstable field infrastructure. Taking the leading position away from Spanish raspberries is going to be complicated,” he says.
"This year will be even worse for the blueberry"
It will still take a few months for the blueberry harvest to start in Huelva, so for now, the company is importing from overseas sources to be able to ensure an uninterrupted supply throughout the year. While last season's oversupply had disastrous consequences for the sector, "this year will be even worse," according to Francisco Sánchez.
“Spain has planted too much blueberry in recent years, while the global production has increased faster than the demand has been able to absorb. This year, Chile is expected to arrive late to Europe, which will result in an overlap with the start of our campaign. At the same time, Morocco and South Africa continue to grow in terms of volume,” says Sánchez.
The blueberry acreage in Spain has allegedly stopped growing already, and some say that plants are actually being uprooted, but the reality is different, according to the manager of Onubafruit. “It is much easier to remove or plant strawberries or raspberries, but the necessary investment is much greater in the case of blueberries. Fortunately, our leading position in this product, with around 17,000 tons per year, makes us ready to face this crisis, which is still far from reaching its peak.”