The Spanish grapefruit campaign is about to start with the prospect of a lower harvest due to the persistent spring rains, which took a toll on the flowering, although the forecasts are good because of the recovery of the food service channel, which will facilitate the sale of lower categories. According to MAPA's forecasts, the estimate for the grapefruit harvest in the 21/22 season is to reach 84,010 tons; 1.25% more than in the previous campaign.
"We will start marketing the first grapefruits of the season in mid-October, when we believe that the fruit is in optimal conditions for marketing. So, we are about to start the domestic grapefruit campaign," says Miguel Barber, manager of Pomelos MBC; leader in grapefruit exports in Spain, with customers in the main EU countries. The company sells grapefruit all year round, both domestic and imported, under the brands Pomelos MBC, Miramar and, since 2019, Barber; a brand that became a trading company, Barber Fruits S.L., in 2020. This company also works with other domestic products, such as persimmon or apricot.
According to the manager of this Valencian company, the overseas campaign: "Has been good despite the unforeseen events that South Africa has suffered in recent months, such as the lack of containers and the riots. At the moment, there are some southern hemisphere batches left in the European markets, but the quality may not be the best. There was a lot of stocked merchandise all throughout the summer."
A good transition between the two hemispheres is expected. "If there is a shortage of South African fruit, we will have to turn to Mexico, but we don't think there will be problems. This reason, starting prices should not be bad at the beginning of the season, given the lack of imports. We'll have to see how the market reacts to the presence of fruit from other origins throughout the season. We overlap with Mexico at the beginning of our campaign and, above all, with Florida and Israel, since they have similar schedules," says Miguel Barber.
Pomelos MBC has plantations in all the grapefruit producing areas of the Iberian Peninsula, like Valencia, Murcia and Andalusia. The idea is to spread out the risks related to the impact of unforeseen weather conditions or pests, among other factors. The white and pink-fleshed varieties have almost disappeared in the Peninsula, so they mainly work with the red-fleshed Star Ruby variety, which has a much sweeter juice than other varieties.
The Valencian company was founded in 1950 by Miguel Barber Castillo, the father of the current manager, hence the initials Pomelos MBC. "Although it was created with the aim of offering the best oranges and grapefruit for the domestic market, we soon had to make a commitment to marketing only and exclusively grapefruit; a segment in which we are leaders today. We are a family business and we continue to grow with the great satisfaction of already being in the 3rd generation."
The company's grapefruit is becoming more and more popular. "Our main markets are Spain, France and Germany and, in addition to this, we are reaching other countries where we are starting to see great interest in our grapefruit, such as the United Kingdom, Switzerland or Italy," says Miguel Barber.
The Valencian firm will compete strongly with Turkey, and this will be tougher this year, given the higher production costs. "The competition with Turkey is always very strong due to its low prices. Added to this is the fact that in Spain we have seen a considerable increase in the cost of materials, electricity, salaries, etc. It is important to remember that, in Spain, we generate very little waste, and that, for the time being, is our competitive advantage over the Turks, since European chains are increasingly demanding a low-waste product. Also, we provide every format demanded by the customers, while Turkey mostly works with the 15-kilo box. Moreover, we always have a fresher product," says Miguel Barber.
Investments to continue growing in a sustainable way
The increase in the demand for its grapefruit in recent years has led the company to invest in its facilities, going from the 400 m2 with which Miguel's father started to the current 9,000 m2. "The constant growth and development are necessary to adapt to the strictest quality and food safety standards, as well as to ensure the protection and safety of our entire team. Every year we improve our facilities and warehouse processes with new and more modern lines. This summer we have made an investment of more than 1.6 million Euro to reorganize our facilities at the head office, which has resulted in more space, agility and comfort at work. The aim of all this is to efficiently continue to meet the needs of our customers, which include wholesale markets throughout Europe and the large European supermarket chains," says Miguel Barber.
"To meet the demands of these markets, we are committed to investing to become increasingly sustainable, eliminating plastics in packaging, and to increasing the number of certified grapefruit fields, which guarantee the use of waste-free products. Also, for some years now we have been self-sufficient in the management of our own resources with the use of large infrastructures of solar energy panels, reaching a real self-consumption of 50%. We also clean the water we consume in our facilities by treating it in a modern ozone purification plant, in order to return it to the sewage network as clean as possible," he says.
"We have also recently become quite involved in sports and their promotion as part of a healthy life style, as is eating fruit daily. And if that fruit is grapefruit, so much the better! Since last season, we have been the main sponsor of VGA Stella St. Maur Handball, a women's handball team in the French Division 2 (D2) league and one of the oldest handball clubs in France," says Miguel Barber.
For more information:
Miguel Barber
Pomelos MBC
Avinguda de l’Estatut, 5 . P. I. Les Vinyes
46711 Miramar, Valencia. Spain
T: +34 962 81 91 08
[email protected]
www.pomelosmbc.es