The first OKI flat peaches to be exported overseas will leave tomorrow via Lerida, Spain. A new shipment will be made every week until the end of the campaign as a result of the agreement reached with Grupo Éxito, one of Colombia's largest chains. The OKI flat peaches will be sold by the Group at Carulla Supermarkets, which are specialised in high-end products for the more affluent customers.
There are three firms involved in this operation, which in addition to taking part in the OKI project, are negotiating the formation of a consortium to make joint exports overseas. The firms behind the initiative are Caberol Fruits, Fruites Font and Lozano Jiménez.
The relevance of this first joint shipment to Colombia is quite clear if we take into account that Catalonia only ships 1% of its peaches and 2% of its nectarines to South America. Furthermore, Colombia is a country where, up until now, the import of Catalan peaches was almost non-existent and which received 80% of its stone fruit from Chile and the United States.
Manel Simon, Managing Director of Afrucat, stated that, "Afrucat's goal is to promote the creation of brands, consortia and any other project that makes collaboration between Catalan firms easier, deriving into synergies that create competitive advantages."
OKI is a project sponsored by Afrucat for the sales of peaches from the Ebro Valley under a unique brand. Fruits de Ponent, Lozano Jiménez, Fruites Font, Caberol Fruits, Frutaito and Cooperativa de Soses are the companies taking part in this project, which account for 35% of Catalonia's flat peach production.