After the slowdown in the avocado market in February caused by the overlap in the production of Spain, Portugal, and Morocco, the rains in March led to shortages that have caused the price to soar at the end of the Hass avocado season. "In a matter of days, prices went from 10 euros per box to more than 15," says Iván Brefa of Xarki, a Malaga-based company that specializes in subtropical crops. "At the moment, we are working with Lamb Hass from Malaga and Granada while we are also starting with the Peruvian Hass campaign; in fact, the first containers will arrive this week."
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"We are facing the Peruvian season with optimism after having finished the Mediterranean Hass season with good results. This year, Peru's production is expected to increase by 35-37% compared to last year. However, at this early stage, the Peruvian avocados that are starting to arrive from the growing area of the Sierra have unstable dry matter levels, which means that they are less homogeneous in terms of ripening. Therefore, we are still counting on the Spanish Lamb Hass, which is very important for us and yields very good results each year."
"The Lamb Hass is a variety with great productive stability which can better withstand water stress conditions, allowing for more intensive cultivation than the Hass. It also has optimum dry matter levels (they can amount to around 25%), which makes it very tasty and, furthermore, it is very homogeneous in terms of ripening."
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"The problem is actually that it ripens differently compared to the Hass, and consumers still have to learn how to identify a ready-to-eat Lamb Hass avocado. Despite this, Xarki has opened four new lines for the Lamb Hass this year, and things have gone really well, so we plan to continue with it next year before Peru enters the market."
"In addition to marketers, we are also service providers".
Xarki was founded more than 65 years ago by Francisco Ruiz Puertas, who spent decades exporting subtropical crops from La Axarquía to Europe, "mainly to France, where the brands Xarki and Paqui became associated with notorious quality," says Iván. Today, the project is managed by the third generation of Francisco's family, and in the same pioneering way as in its beginnings, it has evolved by complementing the sales activity with that of service providers.
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"We currently supply avocados 365 days a year. Of course, we work during the Spanish season, but we also handle imports to be able to offer fruit to our clients all year round. At this time, when the sector is changing so much, there is also room for new opportunities, and after identifying the increasingly clear need to offer handling and packaging services to large exporters, we decided to also become active as service providers. This is something that hadn't been developed here in southern Spain, even though Algeciras is a major entry point for fruit into Europe."
In the years since adopting this new strategy, Xarki's growth has been significant. "The number of pallets we used to sell per week is what we are currently selling per day."
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"Spanish avocado, which is what started it all, is highly appreciated; however, big clients demand a 365-day service, so importing was a necessary step to take. Peru is one of the best suppliers you can work with, and given what we've seen this year, Morocco is another to keep an eye on in the future, given its costs and access to water. They are growing a lot, and, in fact, we already have agreements ready to be closed for next season. We should also not lose sight of Portugal, another very important supplier that is also going to continue growing and is doing a very good job with its avocados. Nonetheless, in Spain, we have very good avocados, such as the Lamb Hass, which is still in season and has been very positively received, allowing us to open up new lines."
For more information:
Xarki
Barriada El Trapiche, Cortijo Armario s/n
29719 Vélez-Málaga, Spain
Tel.: +952 500 827
info@xarki.com
https://xarki.com/