Tomato

The group continues to increase the number of specialties it supplies both in fresh and precooked produce. This year they are introducing the Palermo pepper (broader Italian type with thicker walls and red colouring), cow horn pepper (mainly for Hungary), hot pepper and raspberry.
Last year the group spent 1.5 million on its “5th range” precooked convenience foods factory, where they prepare and pack red, green and yellow roasted peppers, and the same product with cod, ready to eat with a 6-month shelf life, under the “QDelicias” brand. Roast courgette and aubergine products will soon be added to the assortment. To this end, they have secured an agreement with the Andalusian Institute of Agricultural and Fisheries Research and Training of Andalusia (Ifapa), with a view to developing these new products. 
The “QDelicias” range will be traded in the domestic market, the United Kingdom and France. Overseas markets are also explored: Costa de Almería took part in a promotional activity in Mexico along with Extenda, to promote their ready-to-eat range in the 89 Superama chain outlets in this American country, a company belonging to Walmart Mexico and Central America with a track record of over 45 years. 
“The added value of QDelicias roasts is their freshness, as the pepper is roasted recently cut and packaged immediately”, notes Vargas. Costa de Almería will continue its investment strategy with another 1.5 million euros to expand storage facilities by 2000 m, cold chambers by 1000 m, a cucumber line and manufacturing machinery for cherry pear tomato.
The group closed last season with a sales volume of 140 million kilos, which translates to a value of around 100 million euros. Chairman Juan Enrique Vargas considers that the sector “has covered costs and that’s not enough, despite the crisis context. This year we’ve exceeded last year’s production figures with roughly 20 million kilos more”, explains Juan Enrique. He added that this also had a lot to do with the la E. coli crisis from the previous campaign, which obliged them to “shut up shop” 2 months earlier than anticipated. 
Costa de Almería Fruit and Vegetables closed the crop year with an average price of just over half a Euro per kilo produced, similar to the figures reported throughout the sector. “To say that the campaign has been good, the average price should be around 60 or 65 cents per kilo”, he explains. 
The Roquetas de Mar-based Group embarked upon a six-year strategic plan of action in the previous campaign which accounts for more than €3 million in investments. It culminated last month with the purchase of reference auction Cehorpa from Agrupaejido, for a spend of 15 million euros. 

One of the benchmarks in peppers, Mabe Hortofrutícola is keeping up its winning quality commitment and confirms its growth forecast of 8% to 70,000 tons traded this season. For this campaign they have 600 ha of greenhouse vegetables in production. They are backed by prestigious certificate such as Global Gap, BRC, Tesco Nurture, QS, IFS, Albert Heijn, etc.
Cucumber and pepper are the items showing the biggest increase, with +30% and +18% respectively. Their annual supply adds up to 35,000 tons of pepper and 18,000 of cucumber. This campaign, along with the rest of the sector, quantities are being affected by the recent attacks of New Delhi virus, with a sharp drop of around 40%, amid fears that the watermelon and melon campaign might also feel the impact, according to initial tests.
MABE, whose objectives are quality, safety and sustainability, is working on the rollout of a FOOD DEFENCE system involving measures to prevent intentional contamination of the production process or products by means of chemical products, biological agents or other noxious substances. MABE also engages in sustainability programmes through the implementation of energy consumption saving equipment. 

The group’s production area is spread throughout the province of Almeria, from Cuevas de Almanzora to Adra, with logistic points in areas such as La Alpujarra, Alhama, Palomares, Níjar, Adra, Roquetas or El Ejido, as well as along the Granada Coast. 
The group trades in nine product families, including tomato, cucumber, pepper, courgette, aubergine, beans, Chinese leaves, melons and watermelons, each with a wide range of varieties. 
The group’s production last season notably reached 286,000,000 kg, a result unassumingly qualified by the company as “moderately positive”, with similar figures forecast for the current campaign.
The main distribution channels for Grupo Agroponiente focus on wholesale trading, aimed at supermarket chains and markets.
The Group has been characterised for several years now by sustained growth in volume and custom, covering practically all countries in Europe, with pride of place going to Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Poland and the Netherlands, followed by Scandinavia and the Baltic countries as well as Russia. Over the last two campaigns they have rolled out a strategy of direct trading with the United States and Canada, which is also continuing an upward trend.  Alongside this, it should be noted that just over a year ago the group started up trial exports to North America, with produce shipped to Canada and the eastern coast of the USA. The plan is to continue this experience for the coming campaign and one of the main challenges lies in the logistical organisation required in order to make headway in terms of volumes and customer portfolio. The proliferation of specialities is remarkable, especially in tomatoes and peppers, but also in other products such as aubergine.  Agroponiente is currently engaged in an in-depth task to link production with market demand, among other things focusing on these specialities, ranging from black tomato, cherry, Rebellion or Raf to striped aubergine or several different types of pepper. 

Alhóndiga la Unión’s growth is set to continue in coming campaigns. Today they have around 1,000 hectares in cultivation and certified by GlobalGAP.
Last season they traded 270 million kilos and 5% growth is forecast for the current campaign. La Unión supplies a broad variety of products, with cucumber as the main attraction at 31% of production, followed by pepper at 19%, courgette at 17%, then watermelon and tomato with 10% and the rest in aubergines, melons and beans.
Their main distribution channels are through the supermarket chains. Around 65% of their produce is traded through these outlets, while the rest is marketed by commercial agents. La Unión is raising the courgette category due to demand and the product’s widespread uptake in new destination markets. They are also introducing the round courgette, which is being very well received. Russia is currently one of their main destination markets, taking in a large percentage of exports. Moreover, last year they opened up new receiver markets in the USA and Canada. The quality department at Alhóndiga la Unión certifies the whole production process, all the way from the farm to manufacturing in their warehouses. To this end they maintain all the relevant certification such as BRC, IFS, Integrated Production, Tesco Nature, GlobalGap as well as their own laboratory, accredited by ENAC, where over 30,000 analyses are performed. The Group’s interest in the quality system is further highlighted by their initiation in GlobalGap Grasp certification and signing up to the Ecoembes programme. As part of their environmental commitment, they have 4 Sigfito pickup points for used phytosanitary product containers.
Their extensive professional trajectory continues apace with the development of a new robotic line for courgette and their latest new product, a microperforated plastic container to increase the shelf life of produce by up to 20 days.