The abundant rainfall of the last few weeks on the Mediterranean coast due to heavy storms has had an extreme impact on the Spanish province of Valencia. Kakis have been severely affected, and citrus fruits have also been hit, although to a lesser extent. The production and commercial activity in the citrus sector was disrupted by the extreme weather, but tireless work has been done to try getting back on track in a period of high demand.
"Fortunately, the storms only caused some material damage to our facilities. All the staff are fine and that is undoubtedly what matters most," says Quico Peiró, director of operations at Cañamás Hermanos.
"The storms mainly affected our warehouse in l'Alcúdia, where reeds and mud were brought in by water due to the overflowing of the Magro river. However, after a week of intense work by the staff, we have been able to resume activity and are now fully operational," says Peiró.
According to Peiró, although Valencia's kaki production has been badly affected, it is still too early to assess the actual extent of the damage to citrus. "As far as our citrus farms are concerned, there hasn't been any significant flooding and, although greater amounts of water have accumulated in specific areas, in general terms, the crops' development and growth process continues without considerable interruptions," he says.
The fact is that, with so many days of rain, harvesting tasks had been brought to a halt and the supply fell in the last few weeks. "The company has been working hard to bring everything back to normal in the fields and warehouses, trying to restore the usual pace of the citrus season, providing a service to our clients and covering their needs," says Peiró.
"Regardless of any conclusions, we can categorically state that the supply is guaranteed, thanks to the efforts of all the teams to normalize the situation as soon as possible," says Peiró. "As far as volumes are concerned, as is usual at this time of year, we are already getting ready for the Saint Nicholas campaign, and this means a high work rate."
As far as transport is concerned, it is true that in the last few weeks, the logistics has suffered the impact of the storms and floods due to road closures, especially in the Valencia metropolitan area. However, little by little, traffic is gradually flowing again, both on routes to other areas of Spain and towards Europe, thanks to the recovery of land infrastructures and the lifting of traffic restrictions.
Excessive moisture due to the abundant rainfall is also raising concerns in the citrus sector because of its possible impact. "At Cañamás Hermanos, exhaustive quality controls are carried out throughout the entire production process which will allow us to immediately detect any anomalies and ensure that the fruit delivered to our clients meets the usual quality and flavor requirements," says Quico Peiró.
"The situation in the fields is not significantly different to that of previous years, with heavy rains in October and November," says Peiró. "The difference this year is that we have had a catastrophe in the urban areas which, unfortunately, has caused hundreds of victims and affected thousands of people. However, the situation isn't as extraordinary for the agricultural sector, because the amount of water accumulated, although unusual, won't be catastrophic for the rural environment. Therefore, I believe that the different varieties will develop normally and that the situation in the market will have a bigger influence than that of the fruit at source."
A dynamic and smooth season after overseas stocks were depleted
According to the Operations Manager of Cañamás Hermanos, this year's season started off with smooth sales and acceptable prices, with a very limited stock of overseas production until the arrival of a large quantity of fruit from the Southern Hemisphere, which had not reached the market at the time and which, due to the catastrophic situation during the first days of November in Spain, has already been cleared from the markets. "Right now, the situation is still dynamic and smooth, and we expect things to continue like this in the coming months."
"Competition must take place on a level playing field. I don't think we are on the right track"
With regard to the growing advance of the productions from third countries, Quico Peiró says that "competition is healthy; it is what drives society, the economy and business in general. However, it is worth noting that competition should always take place on a level playing field, and in Europe, we are often dealing with too much administrative pressure, as well as with an extremely costly fight against pests coming from third countries without the right tools to combat them. We are therefore making the European agricultural sector less competitive. I believe that we need to think this all through in every link of the chain, to figure out where we are standing now and where we want to head to. I don't think we are on the right track at the moment."
"We are a 100% family-owned group".
Although we continue to see companies grouping together, backed by large funds involved in the fruit and vegetable sector, Quico Peiró says that "the Cañamás Group is still 100% family-owned and has a generational transition plan in place, as well as a professionalized structure, independent of ownership, a vertical integration in the business and a clear goal: providing the best service with the best quality and at the best price."
For more information:
Maria Canet
Commercial Department
Cañamás Hermanos, S.A.
Camí Aigua Blanca, S/N
46780 Oliva. Valencia. Spain
Tel.: +34 962 852 000
[email protected]
www.canamas.com