“Avocados are not a company option, but a product or service for experts”

Spain’s avocado marketing campaign is currently in whole swing with the harvest of the Hass variety. The drought and absence of h2o resources in Malaga have led growers to diversify their creation in other areas, these types of as the Region of Valencia, exactly where FreshPlaza visited the services of Grupo Alcoaxarquía to discover more about the growth and present-day condition of avocado cultivation in this area, but also globally, supplied this firm’s commitment to a world wide creation.

In 2023, Grupo Alcoaxarquía opened its subsidiary Alcoaxarquía Levante in the city of Sollana, Valencia, which soon after an investment of 2 million euros at this time has the potential to manage 1,000 tons of avocados for every month, about 40 pallets day-to-day, despite the fact that its aim is to double that figure. Valencian avocados are hugely oriented toward both equally the area and the export marketplaces.

The packing plant of Alcoaxarquía Levante made use of to be a supermarket, so temperatures can be managed in all rooms all through the complete course of action. “This is an modern strategy in the sector, as we only pre-ripen and pack the fruit at the key facility. The fruit’s reception from the industry and its sorting is completed at an additional facility in get to have a lot more area and assure cleanliness. I believe that this is the future, also for other crops,” states José Antonio Alconchel, CEO of Grupo Alcoaxarquía.

Correct to its enterprise vision, Alcoaxarquía manages not only the handling plant, but also a component of the community manufacturing as a result of agreements with producers in the region, as very well as the activity of its possess farms. The Region of Valencia currently has about 3,600 hectares devoted to avocados, despite the fact that it is considered that this acreage will shortly exceed 4,000.

“At the minute, about 70% of the avocados developed in the Location of Valencia are of the Lamb Hass assortment, and the other 30% are Hass, despite the fact that we count on these shares to develop into 50%-50% in the future,” says José Antonio. “The Lamb Hass is a great selection, as very good as the Hass the dilemma is that the harvest has been carried out prematurely for decades, and it has been poorly managed, considering that, while it resembles the Hass, it has a later harvest calendar, from mid-March to late April or early May perhaps.”

Alberto Fernández, Flooring Manager at Alcoaxarquía Levante.

“Our intention is to transfer Malaga’s know-how to Valencia’s fields, as we have been functioning with tropical fruits in Malaga for 18 several years. I think that the Location of Valencia has good prospective as an avocado creating region in Spain, and you will find plenty of room to increase. Nevertheless, growers there still need to have extra information about manufacturing, harvesting and marketing to deliver a higher-quality product to the current market, as it is however a relatively new crop in the space. Avocados are not a company opportunity, but a merchandise for professionals,” says the firm’s CEO.

Grupo Alcoaxarquía presently manages all-around 2,700 hectares distribute across unique provinces in Spain, as well as in numerous international locations in equally hemispheres. In addition to its headquarters in Malaga, the team also has subsidiaries in Peru and Morocco, and soon expects to announce the opening of a new subsidiary in another nation that will allow for it to offer avocados all yr spherical with its personal generation and agreements with other producers. The team, which has a exceptional organic production task, ships its fruit to Europe, North The usa, Asia and Latin America via its a variety of subsidiaries. “We intention to accomplish whole management of our generation to be ready to offer the very same quality standards all over the calendar year,” suggests José Antonio.

In Spain, Malaga is nevertheless the most significant avocado manufacturing space, though issues in the source of irrigation drinking water have led to a reduction of its manufacturing and expanding diversification in other areas of Spain, this sort of as Granada, Cadiz, Huelva or the Location of Valencia. “What is happening in the Axarquía of Malaga is similar to a restaurant with only one particular kitchen including extra tables non-end, although constantly maintaining the same kitchen area,” claims José Antonio Alconchel. “A important alter is anticipated to happen in the Axarquía, in Malaga, in which a significant part of the avocados will be replaced by mangoes, which have a lot decrease drinking water demands.”

“It will be hard to achieve whole avocado productivity at a world amount in the coming years”
In accordance to the entrepreneur, the future is searching superior for avocados, as use however has probable to expand in many nations. Having said that, “due to the fact the pandemic decades, the current market has proven larger instability, with sharp peaks and troughs in prices due to the impression of inflation on the acquiring ability of consumers and generation imbalances triggered by abrupt weather transform in the key developing nations.”

“For this motive, even though a good deal of avocado has been planted around the world, it will be tough to achieve total successful capacity in the coming several years. In the meantime, usage will continue to raise,” he claims.

For a lot more details:
José Antonio Alconchel
Grupo Alcoaxarquía
M: +34 607396517
T: +34 951 33 39 34
[email protected]
www.alcoaxarquia.com