The Spanish raspberry season began well for Plusberries in Huelva at the end of September. "That positive trend lasted until mid-November, but then the market took a bit of a hit," says Jan van Bergeijk. "On the bright side, we had excellent weather here, but that also led to a supply peak in the market."
"There's still some supply pressure in the market. Additionally, during periods like Black Friday and Sinterklaas—which, incidentally, they don't celebrate here in Spain—demand for soft fruit tends to drop among our customers. At the end of November and the start of December, people often focus on other things. However, I expect the market to recover smoothly afterward. After New Year, the supply of Spanish and Portuguese raspberries declines rapidly, and volumes from northern Morocco are also decreasing. This should lead to a reasonable market balance heading into spring."
"Raspberry yields here in Huelva are at a good level. We've had a relatively good summer weather-wise. There were a few extremes, but they didn't cause any issues, resulting in a stable season so far. We've also had quite a bit of rain for Spanish standards—not as extreme as in other parts of Spain—so we're essentially happy with it," says Jan, who is commercially responsible for raspberries within the group. "Market conditions for other soft fruits are also favorable. For example, there's strong demand for blackberries, and their supply is relatively good, keeping that market balanced. Strawberries were particularly expensive earlier in the season. Prices remain high but are expected to stabilize within two weeks as supply increases."
"The high price of strawberries has benefited raspberries, as they've been a reasonable alternative for consumers in recent weeks," Jan adds. In Spain, raspberry acreage has decreased in recent years, and Jan expects more growers to transition to the popular blueberry crop or return to the slightly less labor-intensive strawberry crop in the coming years. "Labor remains one of the biggest challenges, but this applies to all producing countries. We are dealing with the lower end of the labor market, and it's difficult to attract workers to agriculture and horticulture. Unfortunately, I don't see much improvement on this front from political authorities either."
For more information:
Jan van Bergeijk
Frutas Remolino
Tel: +34 609 01 66 54
[email protected]
www.plusberries.com