The Sociedad Agraria de Transformación (SAT) San Cayetano recently held its Ordinary General Assembly as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations. At this event, attended by partners and producers, they shared some of their achievements over these fifty years and also addressed the challenges and projects that will mark the future of the company.
The company was born in October 1975 from the union of 10 agricultural producers. They then created the brand name Alpi, made from the first syllables of "alcachofa" (artichoke) and "pimiento" (pepper), which were the crops they produced at the time. Today, Alpi is still their main brand, supplied to markets and supermarkets all over Europe.
Today, now in its third generation of partners, SAT San Cayetano has modern facilities for the packing of its own produce, with pepper and grapefruit as its main products, although it also works with pumpkins, mini romaine lettuce, Iceberg lettuce, fennel, celery, aloe vera, lemon or lime. The company had a turnover of 47.4 million euros last year and broke its own record in terms of sales value.
"The diversity of crops we have allows us to work all year round and keep a good level of activity both in the field and in the warehouse," says San Cayetano Manager Juan Carlos Martínez.
Products such as pumpkins and grapefruit are supplied all year round. "We have managed to produce and sell pumpkins throughout the twelve months of the year. It's a product which, despite its ups and downs, is showing an upward trend in consumption," says Juan Carlos Martínez. "As far as grapefruit is concerned, we complement our own production with some imports from the Southern Hemisphere so that we can supply our clients 365 days a year," he says.
Water and labor shortages and rising production costs are still the main obstacles for the agricultural sector in the Region of Murcia. "Changes in regulations and new legislation on the use of water for agriculture are having a major impact on the sector's competitiveness, and the difficulties in finding workers both for the fields and the warehouses, is having a similar effect," says Juan Carlos.
"With generational replacement already guaranteed, we will continue doing our best to tackle these problems, just as we have been doing so far, and to keep growing in terms of volume and value, in spite of the significant increases in costs in recent years. We aim to make the best out of our producers' huge potential," says the company's manager.
For more information:
Juan Carlos Martínez
SAT San Cayetano
Av. de Tarquinales, 16
30730 San Javier, Murcia, Spain
Tel.: +34 968 58 01 11
juancarlos.martinez@satsancayetano.es
www.satsancayetano.es