Grupo Clasol and Cooperativa San Alfonso are joining forces to create a leading fruit and vegetable group, combining the best of the cooperative and private models. The new alliance's innovative business model will focus on citrus and stone fruit production. This new entity has four packing plants: two in the province of Castellon, one in the south of Tarragona and another in Murcia, as well as 2,500 hectares of crops and more than 2,000 employees.
Emilio Balaguer, president of Cooperativa San Alfonso, next to César Claramonte, CEO of Grupo Clasol.
"In most countries of the European Union the demand is concentrated, with just a few chains monopolizing most of the market. That is why in the last four years, large fruit and vegetable groups have been formed with the backing of investment funds, with the aim of gaining size and, with it, purchasing power and product sales," said César Claramonte, CEO of Grupo Clasol, based in Borriana, Castellon.
"They exert pressure on prices at origin and an ever-increasing control over these. This is a trend that is set to continue, as those large groups are expected to continue buying companies and becoming even larger."
"In this context, cooperatives are losing their capacity to handle the demands of large-scale retailers at a global level," says Emilio Balaguer, president of the San Alfonso Cooperative, based in Betxí, Castellon. "The consequences of this are evident in the province of Castellon, which has gone from 36 cooperatives in 2000 to 8 in 2023. Cooperatives have been left in no man's land and will have to continue reinventing themselves. This integration will allow us to address the challenges we are facing: increasing the volumes of our own fruit, varietal reconversion and investing in warehouse modernization."
The result of this merger is a fruit and vegetable operator with 100% Valencian capital vertically integrated from origin to destination (growing, processing, marketing and transport). The commercial strategy will be oriented towards food retail chains, with a turnover budget for the 2023/2024 campaign of over 120 million Euro and supplies to more than 30 countries.
"We want to grow to a relevant size to be able to talk to large distributors as an equal, but sustained by agriculture, not an investment fund," said César Claramonte. "We are setting up a pioneering and independent business model to defend the interests of small local producers (currently 800 families), as well as an alternative economic viability plan for cases where there is no generational replacement or smaller cooperatives. Our aim is to be a leading platform for the integration of a producer-led project."
The new business group plans to make large investments in its packing and handling centers, as well as in its crops, mainly for varietal changes, in order to be able to offer the most demanded products at a competitive price. The new group expects to achieve 124 million Euro in sales in the 2023/2024 season, with the prospect of exceeding 210 million Euro by the 2027/2028 campaign.
César Claramonte said that: "We have an ambitious five-year business plan that will allow us to grow to a large enough size to supply customers on equal terms with large fruit and vegetable groups backed by investment funds, while keeping our independence and interests in the service of agriculture."
For more information:
César Claramonte
CLASOL
T: (+34) 964585947
[email protected]
clasol.com
Emilio Balaguer
Cooperativa San Alfonso
Cami Sant Francesc, s/n – 12549 Betxí Castellon – Spain
T: (+34) 964 62 30 00
[email protected]
sanalfonso.es