Fruit Today spoke with Abelardo Hernández, Technical Director of Proexport, the association that brings together fruit and vegetable growers and exporters in the region.
Why is this open-field production area so important during the winter months?
In the Region of Murcia, we have developed a fruit and vegetable production system that is unique in Europe. We are capable of growing efficiently and safely in open field at a time when no other EU region can do so. This allows us to supply the main European markets during periods with little competition from other origins. And although we produce 12 months a year, the core of the campaign runs from late autumn to late spring for winter crops such as lettuce, brassicas, celery, spinach, etc., before completing the season with summer crops — mainly melon and watermelon.
What are the most important crops and their volumes? What percentage goes to export?
The winter campaign is centred on vegetable crops, with lettuce — in all its varieties, shapes and colours — as the main one. In Murcia, there are around 16,000 ha devoted to lettuce, producing more than 400,000 tonnes, and we export two-thirds of all Spanish lettuce shipments.
The next category is brassicas, with broccoli as the flagship crop, for which we account for 65% of national exports. Other important crops include celery, with 76% of exports concentrated in Murcian companies and cooperatives; spinach, with 60%; and endives, with more than half of national exports.
In the summer season, our key crops are melon and watermelon: together exceeding 250,000 tonnes. In the case of melon, Murcia represents 45% of Spain’s total exports.
Which markets do you supply? Have there been any notable changes in recent years?
Our main market is the European Union and non-EU European countries such as Switzerland and now the United Kingdom. Virtually all our products are shipped to Europe. We supply fresh, highly perishable foods, and it is difficult to send them to distant destinations. Transport costs are a limiting factor, and few markets can absorb them. This does not mean that we do not ship to places like the UAE, Canada or the USA, but these represent very small volumes compared with Germany, the United Kingdom or the Netherlands.
In a world where sustainability is increasingly decisive, what projects is Proexport working on?
Improving processes, increasing efficiencies, reducing input use, boosting productivity, stabilising supply and demand… these are ongoing efforts.
Looking at specific actions, we participate in projects aimed at improving sustainability in production, packaging and marketing, such as the use of biodegradable mulches — specifically how to achieve faster and more complete biodegradation using microorganisms — developing low-nitrogen fertilisation strategies, improving packaging materials to reduce food waste, scaling circular economy practices that allow for waste recovery, or using automated pest detection traps for more efficient use of phytosanitary products.
Is there any project you are directly involved in?
Nitrosfera is a project aimed at improving sustainability in plant nutrition. Over three years, we conducted trials in both commercial crops and experimental plots, testing different techniques: organic matter types, beneficial microorganisms and agronomic practices, always with the goal of developing fertilisation strategies that, while complying with the regulations applicable to vulnerable zones, would allow us to maintain soil fertility — compromised by restrictions on organic matter use — and achieve quality harvests.
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Using the data collected, we developed an app that supports those responsible for crop fertilisation, helping them apply the nutritional balance best suited to the soil, its organic matter content and the crop. The NITROSFERA APP is available to everyone on the project website: www.nutricionvegetalsostenible.es
How can Murcian agriculture survive the continuous reduction of phytosanitary products?
The vegetable sector lives from the market, which means we are obliged to produce the foods consumers demand, sustainably, responsibly and at a rhythm that maintains a balance between supply and demand. I recognise that the lack of control we have over certain pests at certain times is one of the factors most disrupting this balance.
The issue with plant protection products is not only that some formulations are removed from the market, but that new ones take far too long to be approved. The European Union — and within it Spain — has the strictest controls in the world, which means we are the last to access new, more effective and more environmentally friendly products. This reduces our competitiveness compared with areas that do have access to them.
