Los Cursos has had the best Christmas ever in subtropical fruit volumes, although this season the unexpected ‘star’ is Fino de Jete.
The 2019/20 campaign started with good prices, followed by stable ones at Frutas Los Cursos, with up to 2.60€/kg in avocados. And Christmas was no different. “We have had the best volume in our business history,” comments the Sales Manager, Víctor Rodríguez.
The demand for subtropical fruits is booming and there is not only greater consumption of avocados and mangos: custard apples are also experiencing an “atypical campaign, beating all the price records since the arrival of the Euro.” Sales of the region’s variety, Fino de Jete, are growing on the national market, and the Nordic countries and Germany and France are all beginning to demand this fruit, attracted by its healthy properties, in both conventional and ecological crops. “Consumers equate it to the guanabana due to its internal appearance and anti-cancer qualities, but the custard apple is not at all similar in flavour: it is much sweeter.”
Frutas Los Cursos expects to market around 14 million kgs of avocados, custard apples, mangos and medlar fruit this year. It added pre-prepared products some time ago to its fresh produce range, with a line of guacamole and juices that are booming and enjoying very good acceptance both on the national market and outside our borders, in Germany, France and Portugal. Such is the case that they are going to extend their factory, going from today’s 600m2 to 1,000, incorporating HPP machinery. But this is not all. Another project that is under way is the enlargement of its fresh fruit warehouse, with 1,800m2 and new cold storage chambers.
Amongst the latest developments to be incorporated is the redesigning of the image of its Premium brand, which also involves a commitment to more sustainable materials, with 100% of the seedling trays being made from paper and cardboard. “We want to get ahead on the subject of sustainability,” Rodríguez asserts.
