Pitaya has carved a niche for itself in Andalusia's subtropical sector, which is set to become increasingly important. Its production is very attractive, not only because of its profitability and the expectations generated by the fruit's growing demand in the European market, but also because of the viability of its cultivation and its flexibility to adapt to the conditions of many areas of the autonomous region. The efforts of the S.C.A. Pitayas de Andalucía to bring the sector together are paying off.
"Currently, the S.C.A. Pitayas de Andalucía is formed by 67 producers from the provinces of Huelva, Seville, Cadiz, Extremadura and Portugal. It can be said that we are the first international cooperative of pitayas in Spain," says Alberto Garrocho, who is at the head of the organization. "However, we hope that the number of members will continue to increase."
"Here in the Huelva area there are producers who are very interested in growing pitaya and want to work with us, and at the moment we are in contact with a group of 15 pitaya growers from Malaga who could join soon and who would make our production increase considerably."
"The campaign is ending and we are harvesting the last pitayas of the season. We have to take into account that all the plantations are new (the oldest ones are now 3 years old) and that, in addition to the fact that their production increases gradually in the first years, approximately 50% of them have not yet started to produce, as they do so from the second year onwards. But we are very happy with the results," says Alberto.
"Last year, 10,000 kilos were marketed. This year we have increased that figure to 80,000 kilos and for the next season, which will start in June 2022, we expect to quadruple the production and reach 300,000 kilos."
"Besides, if the producers from Malaga, with whom we have already held several meetings, joined us too, the combination of plantations that are becoming productive and the new ones joining would result in the production of the S.C.A. Pitayas de Andalucía potentially increasing to up to half a million kilos."
"In the cooperative we have a warehouse where we receive the fruit from all our partners and from where we market it to various destinations. This season we have exported our pitayas for the first time, shipping them to the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Italy, and this year we expect to start exporting also to Germany and France. In fact, this year we have already made a small test shipment to a French customer with whom we hope to continue working."
The cooperative S.C.A. Pitayas de Andalucía serves as a key link for this young sector, although its work goes much further: "Our members receive technical advice from us and we support them at all times so that they are successful in their production, both those who already have their plantations planted and those who are starting to grow pitaya. It is a totally new crop that offers very good prospects and a good yield, but that is precisely why we have to do things with great care, and that is our job as a cooperative."
"Being united gives us a great advantage in the marketing of our pitayas, since the less dispersed the production is, the more options we will have to maintain good prices for the fruit from our members, because our objective is to seek their profitability."
"At origin, this year we have achieved an average price equal to last year's. With all expenses removed, our associates have obtained around 4.5- 5 Euro per kilo of pitaya; a pretty good price for a new crop that already has its own market niche in Europe."
For more information:
Alberto Garrocho
S.C.A. Pitayas de Andalucía
Tel.: +34 669 368 384
[email protected]