Spain: "We expect strawberry production to stabilise and quality to improve"

After several consecutive weeks of instability, the weather conditions are improving in Huelva and t…

After several consecutive weeks of instability, the weather conditions are improving in Huelva and the strawberry production is expected to improve in terms of both quality and prices. The high temperatures with high humidity and the few hours of light had caused not only an oversupply, but had also negatively affected the quality, as explained by Simone Piereini, of the marketing department of Ideal Fruits.

"In normal seasons, we start the raspberry campaign in mid-October and the strawberry season in mid-November in Morocco, but this year there has been a delay and it has arrived at about the same time as Huelva. There have been times when Morocco's quality was better because of the weather. The key is that varieties like the Fortuna are highly appreciated in the market for their productivity and taste, but the Fortuna is also very sensitive to weather changes."

Simone is optimistic and is confident that the situation will change in the coming weeks. "Right now, the situation is improving in Huelva, with more sunshine and lower temperatures that will ensure stability in the volumes and lead to improvements in the quality in the coming days."

Given these circumstances, the sector has also had to deal with a stagnant demand and low consumption this year because of the many consecutive days with holidays on the Christmas calendar. "Prices fell sharply in December, but we hope they will rebound as supply volumes fall and the quality improves."

Ideal Fruits specialises in the production of strawberries and other berries, in part because it runs its own nurseries: Viveros El Pinar. It has strawberries available all year round, and besides being headquartered in Segovia, where it has packaging centres and summer crops, it also has offices and fields in Huelva, as well as plantations in Portugal and agreements with producers in Morocco.

"Spain is undoubtedly our most important market. Ideal Fruits was created mainly to supply the Spanish market. Once we managed to ensure continuity in this market, given that our volume is not comparable with that of large cooperatives, we could diversify little by little. As regards exports, we ship mainly to France and the UK. We are not exporting to Italy or Germany because of the market conditions, as consumption is low at this time and many rejections are taking place."