The Crisis Committee of Hortyfruta, the Andalusian Fruit and Vegetable inter-branch organization, met yesterday to analyze the market situation of the products that affect it, especially the long/black aubergines.
Following the provisions of the Quality Standard Extension published in the Official Gazette of 28/07/2022, and given the market situation of long/black aubergines, Hortyfruta decided to activate the red alert phase for this product in conventional agriculture.
A rigorous analysis shows that, in the case of the long aubergine, the minimum thresholds that affect consumer's perception of the product have been exceeded.
As a result, the member organizations of the Andalusian Inter-branch organization have decided to activate the Extension of the Quality Standard for long aubergines grown under greenhouse conditions in conventional agriculture. Thus, the sector will not be able to market the second category long aubergines from 00:00 on Friday, October 18, 2024.
The objective is that only the Extra and First category long aubergines for fresh consumption reach the market, affecting all operators, producers, and marketers in Andalusia.
Market analysis
According to the monitoring carried out by Hortyfruta, the production of long aubergines has been accelerated since last week, with a rebound this week that has also affected the quality of marketing. It should be noted that the estimates for aubergine crop area for this season showed stability compared to last season.
With the real data on the table, Hortyfruta confirmed that there was a delay in production between weeks 35 and 40 of this season. Production, however, has then accelerated abruptly. In any case, marketing is expected to peak in these weeks.
Monitoring and control
From the moment the standard comes into force, supervision, and control of compliance with it also starts. Hortyfruta and the Ministry of Agriculture have established a system to verify and control compliance with the agreement in the facilities of the companies that work with products from Andalusia.
For more information:
Hortyfruta
Ctra. de Málaga n.º 44, 3rd floor
04002 - Almeria - Spain
Tel: +34 662 388 055
Email: [email protected]