The company managed by Antonio Francisco Zamora, Centro Sur (Cesurca), is maintaining its commitment to growth and diversification, and from this May they will offer an important new development: frozen asparagus tips. In this first year selling the frozen line, they foresee producing and marketing 150,000 kilos of 100% Spanish-grown produce. An initiative that, in addition to expanding its range, will allow them to cope with production peaks that usually last between 15 and 20 days, the Manager explained to Fruit Today.
To start up this new range, they have followed one solid premise: sustainability. “We are going to freeze using the sun.” They will be energetically self-sufficient through the installation of renewable energies. “We will blanch the asparagus using biomass and we have invested in solar panels to reach energy self-sufficiency.” Cesurca has invested a sum of 1.7 million euros in this new project. A differentiating commitment in the sector that has already caught the interest of clients, Spanish and international, both in the EU and outside its borders.
This is not the only foray made by Cesurca into the world of processed asparagus. Recently, the company received the 2023 Flavour of the Year award for its Slender Wild Asparagus with the brand Los Monteros. A product prepared using asparagus preserved in the spring, which guarantees flavour, texture and firmness. Accordingly, it is possible to enjoy a unique food 365 days a year. As with the frozen product, this preserved article brings added value and allows the life span of the raw material to be lengthened, while also preventing food wastage.
The fresh produce campaign
Cesurca and Espárrago de Granada will have a joint production of 7.5 million kg of Spanish-grown asparagus, an important volume in spite of the complications being faced by the sector during this campaign due to the weather conditions and the drought.
In counterseason, they have practically another 4 million kilos of produce imported from Peru and Mexico. 100% of this is transported by air and to compensate the carbon footprint, Cesurca is implementing a carbon footprint compensation programme. Through this system, they will actively collaborate in reforestation tasks.
In recent months, imported produce reached high prices compared to other years due to circumstantial problems (protests in Peru and seasons with low temperatures in Mexico). However, Zamora affirms that in spite of the prices, consumption has not fallen off. A fact that contrasts with the drop in consumption of ecological asparagus in Europe in the year 2022.
Zamora trusts that the demand will continue in spite of the effects of inflation. “A product that is as healthy and that has such good properties as asparagus is worthwhile.”
“Unity is the key”
Over 40 years in the sector, 1,200 associates and a benchmark role in the asparagus sector endorse Cesurca’s track record. The company took a step forward in 2021, forging an alliance with Espárrago de Granada, and it has recently signed a business alliance with Los Fresnos. “We continue increasing our associates in the group and we are open to new business alliances,” Antonio Francisco Zamora admits. And the reason is that, in his opinion, “we must think hard about the sector’s business model.”
