Every year TROPS records an increase in its ripened fruit sales, since it guarantees a better turnover and sale of the produce
Thanks to its quality policy, little by little they have managed to make many customers buy pre-ripened fruit. A hard task, since selling and exporting mangos and avocados ready to eat requires an important specialization, significant foresight and a close relationship with customers, in such a way that this “ultra perishable” produce reaches the sales outlets in the best conditions and with top quality. “It has not been easy to begin with; there were many customers who were reluctant to change their working methods, but now there are very few who are not convinced.” They have shown that offering consumers perfectly ripened fruit, a better turnover and sale of the produce are guaranteed. “England and Switzerland have been doing this for many years. At TROPS we have invested in ripening rooms and in the know-how of our operators who guarantee that the brand is the leader in ready to eat, and every year we record an increase in the percentage of ripened fruit in our sales,” comments Alejandro Clavero, Sales Manager of TROPS in Spain.
Furthermore, the domestic market, as has occurred with the European one, is beginning to grow in the ecological segment, particularly due to the opening up of specific new shelves in large supermarkets such as Lidl or Eroski. More and more ‘bio’ references are appearing and, obviously, tropical fruit have joined this market. For TROPS this is nothing new. They have been producing and marketing ecological avocados and mangos for the past 20 years, a segment that now represents a 2.5% and 4% respectively of its total production and that continues to rise. “It is a specialised market (ecological wholesalers), although many wholesalers of ‘conventional’ fruit have also opened up Ecological mango and avocado lines. Additionally, many chains are already offering ecological fruit and it seems that the demand continues to rise.”
The company is immersed in the 2017/18 campaign after the “super harvest of 2016/17”. They finished it with good results (the group reached a total invoicing of over 80 million €), particularly in avocados, where they exceeded 20,000 tonnes thanks to an increase in the production due to a plentiful harvest on virtually all the farms and the incorporation of new associates and plantations. “This year, the avocado volume seems to be slightly lower, particularly in green varieties. A 20-30% reduction is expected, depending on the variety, although we are not certain about the volume of Hass, Spain’s favourite variety.” In the case of mangos, last year they obtained 8,000 tonnes and this year they are hoping for a 20% increase, up to 10,000 tonnes.
At Fruit Attraction they can be visited in Hall 6, 6B03A, and on the 18th of October at 6 pm at Fruit Fusion, where they will perform a cooking exhibition.
