La Union celebrates 30 years leading the fruit and vegetable sector

The dream of Gabriel Barranco, founder of the company, began to take shape on September 1, 1993 and based on tenacity and effort he laid the foundations of a group that today is the main exporter of fruit and vegetables from Spain to the European market. 

Jesús Barranco, CEO of La Unión and son of the founder, now pilots the company. “My father was a person ahead of his time and managed to consolidate a vision of the field business that, with a lot of dedication, has been very successful.” Gabriel Barranco died last year but “his work … accompanies us every day,” said Barranco.

Despite the difficulties that the sector is going through, La Unión managed to close the 2022-23 campaign with a 10 percent increase in its marketing volume, which translated into a turnover of €340 million, compared to the €306 million obtained last year. Average prices rose 9 percent in this campaign, which helped mitigate the high increase in costs which, according to industry sources, were around 25 percent.

The company celebrates its 30th anniversary at a time of great robustness and with a clear diversification policy. Likewise, expansion into new markets is also a feature of the management of La Unión, which has begun to operate, in addition to its traditional markets, in Norway, Finland, Sweden and Denmark. This campaign has also been key to the consolidation of Long Fresh, La Unión’s frozen product range, which has positioned the company as a benchmark in the frozen vegetable sector in just two years.

The future plans for La Unión are no less promising. A growth of 60,000 tons is proposed in the next two campaigns with the invaluable collaboration of its network of farmers. Farmers are at the centre of La Unión’s policies, which is why the company’s suppliers have obtained profits that have exceeded the sector average by between 9 and 23 percent in the past campaign.