The entity has a highly diversified portfolio, but “no other type of growth is being ruled out,” affirms the new Manager of Alpi, Juan Carlos Martínez.
Other different specialities have been added to the aforementioned Mini Romaine lettuce: limes, pomegranates, pumpkins, celery, aloe vera, fennel, peppers and lemons. “The diversification is extensive, both in conventional and ecological productions. It is not good to have all your eggs in the same basket, although peppers and citrus fruits are the two important foundations on which San Cayetano is based,” the executive emphasises.
And within the last category, lemons are the ones that are suffering most during this season, as the prices have dropped. The weather conditions, import pressure, uncertainty about water availability and the important restrictions laid down by the law for the Comprehensive Protection of the Mar Menor must all be added to this. “All the circumstances have come together in a perfect storm for lemons.”
The large social mass of San Cayetano, with its 103 associates and its different productions, allow around ten European markets to be covered, a formula used for its risk diversification.
The arrival of Juan Carlos Martínez coincides with a new life for the cooperative, which fortunately is seeing a continual generational changeover within its associates. “All the company’s departments remain very united and coordinated, from the technical department, to the quality, production, administration, sales or personnel departments. Our aim involves continuous improvement, along with maintaining new sights and challenges.”
The company presented its new corporate image at Fruit Attraction, promoted by its Sales Manager, with a fresher, more functional design in blue for conventional produce and in green for ecological produce. The results are tighter in ecological produce due to current inflation, “but we are committed to this category in which we have more differentiated products such as celery, aloe vera, pumpkins and also peppers. We must continue to increase this market share, along with the amount of different products.”
Regarding the conventional production, pumpkins stand out very favourably, as they have experienced an important boom over the last few years, and where San Cayetano has production guaranteed on the chain programmes throughout the entire year. And as “stranger” products, we must talk about aloe vera and fennel, which are mainly sent to the international markets.
