The company continues on a roll and since the start of the year it has maintained a high rate of imports which, a priori, will approach the same percentages as last year
Sandra Sitjar, executive from the company, talked to Fruit Today.
How has Cultivar evolved over the past 5 years?
We continue to invest in order to keep our points of sale up to date, both in Barcelona and in the other branches. Furthermore, at Mercabarna we have invested in some new facilities that are exclusively devoted to the ripening, selection and packaging of Exotica Premium mangos and avocados. Our ripening rooms in this warehouse use the latest technology and product selection machinery to guarantee fruit without any internal problems, at the perfect point of ripeness.
Can you tell me the import volumes for 2018 compared to 2017? Imports seem to be undergoing a constant recovery at Mercabarna.
In 2018, we increased our imports by 30% compared to 2017 and, in principle, in 2019 the growth should follow the same line.
What can you tell me about the importing of bananas and plantains? How is this category working?
A few years ago, Cultivar opted for the importing, ripening and marketing of bananas and plantains and we are satisfied with the evolution. This is a very important category for our customers and we consider that it is important to be able to offer good quality and service in bananas and plantains, which complement the rest of our offer.
Avocados are products that stand out from the sector. What evolution is Cultivar seeing? How is the Exótica brand working?
In recent years, avocados have become one of our main products. We have become specialists in avocados. We import them from all over the world and we also work with national produce. A few years ago, we opened some new installations devoted to avocadoes, where we ripen, select and package them.
We are very satisfied with the evolution of the Exótica brand. We work only with the top-quality produce for this brand, selected by us. It must be a product with the best appearance and flavour, which satisfies the most demanding consumers.
