Greater boost for Onubafruit

The acquisition of 600 new hectares by one of the members of Onubafruit – Costa de Huelva, puts the second-grade cooperative at the head of the sector.
From the first days of spring, the land belonging to the old Marquisate of Gibraleon has been housing one of the largest farming developments in the province of Huelva thanks to the Costa de Huelva cooperative. Approximately 800 hectares, 600 of which are irrigated land, and to which another 600 must be added that Costa de Huelva now holds in the Condado region, will be used for the berry crop.
The remaining 200 hectares will be maintained as Mediterranean Woodland and they will be protected by the organisation, which is aware of the role that these Woods play in maintaining the soil protection and in regulating the climate.
“The purchase of this land means that clients’ requests will be able to be met, particularly those from the European Union, and it is an important boost for Costa de Huelva, for  Onubafruit and in general for the entire province,” Cristóbal Picón, chairman of Costa de Huelva states.
With this acquisition, Costa de Huelva has become the sector’s largest cooperative in the province of Huelva and Onubafruit is now positioned amongst the top five national companies in the agrifood sector.
“The results obtained in business turnover and job creation indicate that this method of group Enterprise has an important future, although it still has a long way to go before reaching the volumes produced by the large European agrifood cooperatives”, Francisco Sánchez, manager of Onubafruit points out.
The speed of the group’s economic and productive change shows the qualification of its producers, as well as the provision of a solid business structure with an important forecasting capacity that provides the right planning for each campaign. This forecasting focuses on the work developed by its research centres, aimed at perfecting its programme for obtaining new varieties, with greater adaptation to the agro-climatic conditions in the province of Huelva and with which highly satisfactory results have already been obtained. “This considerable work has had a highly positive effect on the quality and on the flavour of the fruit, which has made the producers from Onubafruit more competitive and ranks them as leaders in the production of berries in Europe”, Sánchez indicates.
At the same time, the work by Onubafruit has always been aimed at serving its members, with common goals in a commercial network where the scientific and technological advances make a substantial difference and where one of the top priorities has always been competitive research.