Almería, everything points to tomatoes making a remarkable recovery

Cooperativa La Palma is celebrating 50 years of business experience, effort and improvement, which have made the firm the largest Spanish producer of cherry tomato and mini-veg specialities. The cooperative is composed of more than 700 farmers and has over 854 ha of cultivation that produce 73,000 tons per year. At Fruit Logistica, the firm will present new solutions under the motto: “A sustainable future with a better product with great flavour and more nutrition.” The company promises a genuine food revolution reflected in innovative fresh products, new quality vegan alternatives, sustainable packaging and new marketing concepts. The cooperative continues to focus on its selection of vegetables, as leader in the mini-veg sector. It also boasts a wide line of subtropical fruits such as custard apple, avocado and mango, which have been joined by pitahaya, passion fruit and citrus caviar.

Agroponiente goes zero residue

Agroponiente has made a great leap forward in its environmental commitment as part of a transformation strategy that shifts towards zero residues, launched by new director general, Imanol Almudí. Agroponiente has signed an agreement with MAAVI Lab. “If we intend to become market leaders, we have to be at the head of zero-residue production, and Kimitec is the appropriate partner to help us boost our transition to real sustainability,” said Almudí. Kimitec’s Maavi Innovation Centre will analyse the agronomic needs of Agroponiente to develop natural products with low environmental impact that can control pests and diseases. The objective is to increase productivity and improve organoleptic properties and the post-harvest life of fruits and vegetables while reducing the company’s environmental impact.

Unica Fresh presents new tomato varieties

As taste is already given, the Spanish company is seeking other differential values such as texture, experience in the mouth and product versatility. Among the new products, the Wabi-Sabi tomato stands out due to its unusual texture and flavour. Wabi-Sabi is a tomato offering maximum flavour in a unique way, aimed at breaking with the conception that fruit quality is linked to aesthetic perfection in an effort to reduce food waste. Sacrum is a fleshy, bright red tomato that is ideal for slicing thanks to its firmness. It evokes tomatoes from another era. Meanwhile, Nippo is a small and novel tomato that upon crunching in the mouth takes the tasting experience to a higher level.