The avocado campaign is already coming to a close in the Spanish Region of Valencia, where good productive and commercial results have been achieved with the Lamb Hass, its most representative variety. The acreage devoted to avocados in Valencia continues to grow and production is expected to significantly increase in the coming years.
"This year, there has been a lower Hass avocado production and the campaign has finished earlier than usual, and this has given a greater boost to the demand for Valencian Lamb Hass avocado, which has had good yields," says Vicente Bayona, CEO of the producer and marketer Tropical Bayper and avocado plant sales representative for Viveros Brokaw in the Region of Valencia. "We are now in the final phase of the Lamb Hass campaign and receiving the first shipments of Hass avocados from Peru."
According to Vicente Bayona, the average prices at origin for Lamb Hass avocados have ranged between €2.30 and €2.60 per kilo for the larger sizes, around €2.10 for the medium sizes and €1.50 for the smaller sizes.
The Region of Valencia is close to reaching 4,000 hectares devoted to the crop and accounts for more than 15% of the Spanish production. "Around 50,000 new avocado saplings are expected to be planted in Valencian soil this year, mainly of the Lamb Hass variety, as areas with the ideal soil conditions and microclimate continue to be found," says Bayona.
"There are a large number of young trees in the Region of Valencia that are still years away from reaching their full productive potential, and when this happens, the total volume will exceed 10,000 tons," says Bayona, who is carrying out most of the avocado plant sales in the Region of Valencia. "However, it should be noted that the Lamb Hass has a short production schedule in Valencia, between March and early April. Could too much supply be concentrated in such a short window?" he warns.
Valencian avocados seek to stand out as a local, sustainable product that offers every guarantee when it comes to nutritional and traceability standards, as opposed to avocados from third countries.
"More companies have come to inquire about our avocados this year. Little by little, they are being introduced into major European supermarkets, since it is a product with very good organoleptic qualities if harvested at the right time, and with larger sizes than the Hass," says Vicente Bayona. "We would like this local product to receive greater support from retail chains in the Region of Valencia," he says.
For more information:
Vicente Bayona Pérez
Tropical Bayper
M: +34 616445682
M: +34 673420483
[email protected]
www.bayex.es