Could you give me a summary and valuation of the previous campaign?
In general, the campaign was satisfactory. The significant difficulties and uncertainties that we had at the beginning, basically caused by the drought, were eased with the long-awaited rain that appeared at the end of the year and that accompanied us during the winter and the start of the spring. Although this rainfall also causes production losses, as it also affected the quality of the harvests, it came as a great relief for all the producers.
In raspberries, the production was lower than the previous year, as there was a decrease in the plantations. The prices were good, but the profitability was very uneven, and the risk was very high.
In strawberries, the abundant rainfall since the beginning of 2024 caused many problems regarding quality and complaints, which meant a drop in volumes due to the amount of fruit that could not be marketed over several weeks. But after Easter, we found a market that was very balanced between offer and demand, without the normal production peaks on these dates and, therefore, prices higher than usual. The campaign also lasted until the beginning of June.
Bilberries have been seriously influenced by the low offer of Peruvian produce during the first half of the campaign, meaning the demand has been good up to the month of May, without any important peaks or stockpiles of produce.
What expectations are being considered for the current campaign?
The preparations are developing “normally”. This new “normality” that is characterised by water restrictions for irrigation, by the use of soil disinfection products and pesticides and by potential difficulties to cover the labour requirements. All of this in a changing climate, in both weather conditions and regulations.
The raspberry plantations are already significantly advanced, but there are still a few weeks to go before the strawberries start. Bilberries are continuing their variety change process and the expansion of the production period.
In terms of varieties, you are leading the way for the sector in both raspberries and bilberries.
We have our own variety programme for bilberries and strawberries. Back in 2022, we launched 5 varieties of bilberries, of which we produced over 3,000 tonnes in the last campaign. Demba and Dana are the main ones, and their earliness, flavour and productivity make them stand out.
In strawberries our programme started up 3 years ago and we are still in the initial period, but we already have some promising selections.
With respect to raspberries, we have three exclusive varieties for our region, which are Lagorai, Shani, and Malling Bella. This campaign we will start to have production of a new variety that we hope to incorporate to our catalogue.
What challenges does the sector have for the next few years? And specifically, what are Onubafruit’s challenges?
Our purpose continues to be the same as it was 20 years ago, when we started our project: to continue offering a product that satisfies our clients, aimed at maximising the farmers’ profitability in order to ensure their activity lasts over time. All of this being responsible with the environment and with people.
The greatest challenges we are facing and that overshadow many others, are water management and labour. Almost nothing at all…
