BioProcam is extending its range, offering a wide variety of ‘eco’ produce, ideal for making up mixed pallets
Diversification has become BioProcam’s main strategy. The company from Motril has added to its already extensive range (in which Has avocados, cucumbers and vine and Raf type tomatoes stand out), new produce such as pumpkins, citrus fruits, persimmons (being introduced this year thanks to the collaboration with farmers from Huelva), and in February it will add picuda cabbage, a product with which it is putting mixed cropping into practice with cucumbers. “Both crops complement each other well and if they are in the same space it allows us to have a secondary commercial line,” since at present, they will produce reduced amounts of cabbage to complete the offer for customers interested in mixed pallets, the manager Fernando Martín explains.
Its market share relies increasingly on specialised stores and small ‘bio’ chains that ask for a wide assortment of fresh fruit and vegetables, but in small volumes. “A wider range of produce allows us to reach more customers.” With regard to the large chains, the company is present in virtually all the European supermarket chains. The first destination is Germany, but France has seen an important growth over the last three years. “French governmental policy firmly supports ecological produce for children’s food. In many regions they have introduced these foods onto the school dinner menus.” An initiative that should be imitated by Spanish Administrations (although in Andalusia actions have already been carried out on this point. For example, in 2016 over three million units of ecological produce was served in school dining rooms).
Along with this type of promotion, the executive points out the need to “make sure that farmers comply with the legislation in force” and to ensure that the production does not continue to greatly exceed the demand, as this damages the sector due to the imbalance it causes regarding the prices. “We have been seeing important price imbalances over the past two campaigns. Ecological produce has dropped to the same price as conventional produce.” And the fact is, according to Martín, “’eco’ cannot have 1,100 hectares of greenhouses added to it in a single year.”
New developments
Alongside the new references in its range, the company is experiencing a growth in the number of associate farmers, attracted by the OPFHs (Organisations of Fruit and Vegetable Producers). “This has become very obvious over the past three years. They have realised that belonging to an OPFH allows them access to a great deal of aid.” On an infrastructural level, they recently changed the image of their façade and have replaced the lighting on the warehouse with LEDs, an alternative in line with the sustainability promoted by the company’s produce.
