The California pepper is Escobi’s star product, along with the courgette. The company is working on its development, planting new varieties and finding solutions for its clients, such as replacing plastic packaging with cardboard. With regard to the markets, Gabriel Escobar, head of the Sales department confirms that “orange California peppers are being used more and more for the three-colour flowpacks” instead of green peppers, although the traditional mix, which is deep-rooted in different destinations, will continue.
For this campaign, Escobi expects to exceed the volumes marketed last year, with around 57-60 million kg as opposed to the 55 marketed in 2018/19. To do this, they have 400 h of crops including peppers (35% of their total volume is California and 5% Palermo), courgettes (35%), aubergines (15%) and cucumbers (10%). Tomato production has dropped, having been put to one side in order to encourage other more profitable crops. When asked about the future of this product, they have the opinion that “perhaps the best formula for the specialists would be a combination between commodities and specialities that guarantee a suitable profitability.”
