The company from Abarán (Murcia) is starting a new voyage in line with its new brand slogan: “Frutas Torero around the whole world”
A pioneer in the 1970s and ‘80s in its journeys around Chile in search of varieties and products that would adapt to the European markets, the company is aiming its future expectations towards countries in Asia and Africa.
The famous slogan ‘Abarán, Paris, London’ has now become ‘Abarán, London, Vietnam, China’.
From Vietnam, Fruit Today talked to Antonio Torero, the manager of Frutas Torero.
Europe has always been your natural market. Why have you taken this step?
Firstly, because I believe that we all agree that Europe must be decongested; secondly, we are living in a completely globalised world and the logistics have made great advances; and thirdly, we have some very high quality grape varieties that fit in very well with the Asian and African tastes.
However, due to the distance, Europe will continue to be our natural market. At present there is a good demand for produce and in any case, it is worth mentioning that this year the campaign will end earlier.
Did you have great expectations about China that the Cold Drop dashed?
Yes, this is true, but the important point is that the protocol has been signed and we have the market and the produce. We don’t want to send grapes that do not meet China’s high expectations of Spanish grapes. Their quality demands are very high and I don’t believe it is a good idea to break them. We will wait for another year. We will have the competition from the United States and Australia, but it is still a very attractive destination due to the size of the country and because they are looking for Premium grapes that Murcia can provide.
On the other hand, you are trading in other distant destinations.
Yes, in places where we already had worked in previous years. This is the case of Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia, etc. And in Africa, we have reached Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa…
Which varieties do they prefer in Asia?
The black varieties. At the moment we have been sending Autumn Royal®.
With which new variety lines is the company working?
Last year, we reached agreements with International Fruit Genetics (IFG) and we have Sweet Globe², Jack Salute®, Sweet Celebration² and Sweet Joy®, but I must emphasise that the varieties from ITUM have been very important for the development of the sector; without them we would not have been able to evolve.
Are grapes becoming more important than stone fruit for Frutas Torero?
Yes, obviously. We are leaning more towards grapes in our production area, not only my company, but all of them in general. We have now experienced three bad campaigns for stone fruit. The offer does not adapt to the demand and the plantations must be reduced.
