What is your assessment of this trade fair, which you always attend?
I think that it is very interesting to extend our sales network because we are highly concentrated on the European countries, and diversification is a great asset. Attending this trade fair means making contacts with many countries, which in the future could be purchasers, such as the cases of Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, China, etc.
What estimate can you give us regarding the current grape campaign?
The first characteristic is that this campaign started around two weeks early and that we calculate it will end up to a month before time. Its behaviour is actually quite normal. It started off well because the volumes were small, but later on, with larger amounts on the market, a small slump always appears, with a drop in prices that then tends to rise again. At the moment (mid-September), with smaller volumes, the demand is good. In white grapes, for example, we don’t have the capacity to attend to all the demand.
Are you continuing to increase your production?
The last increase occurred in 2023, when we added another 53 hectares, of which 30 were for grapes and the remainder for stone fruit.
Talking about stone fruit, how did Torero end the campaign that started in April?
This was slightly more complicated. It started off well in April, but by the time we reached the 10th of May, it began to lose profitability. This situation continued until the beginning of June. The truth is that without the month of April it would have been a bad campaign. It was a worse campaign than the preceding one, always regarding average prices per kilo.
Your company has export markets in its DNA. How are two of your main destinations, England and Germany, performing?
Historically, we have had a very close relationship with the British market, but things have changed a great deal and it no longer represents what it was a few decades back, although it continues to be a very important market. Germany is our commercial support, the market where we sell most at present and if anything were to happen there, I am certain it would have a very important effect on us.
As a powerful grape producer, Murcia has a great deal to say in Europe. What are this sector’s challenges?
The main challenge involves overcoming or redirecting the restrictions that we have with plant protection applications. If we carry on like this, the day will come when we will not be able to put produce on the market.
