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Spanish exports refresh UK winter fruits
Spain
Tuesday 04 December 2007
At the end of the big sierras in the Costa Tropical, Southern Spain, lies the Rio Verde, the only tropical valley in Europe which is bordered either side by a river. It's unsurprising that in this lush valley, fruit growers have been harvesting for centuries, first sugar cane and now the cherimoya fruit.
The sub-tropical microclimate of the Costa Tropical, which rarely drops below 10°C at night, provides the perfect climate for the exotic cherimoya fruit, which has a creamy sweet flesh and a hard, green, grooved skin and is most often eaten in a similar way to the avocado – cut in half, scooped with a spoon, avoiding the pips. This fruit has been available in the UK for some time, but it is still relatively unknown among British consumers, which is why this year Foods from Spain has added the fruit to its campaign to raise the profile of fresh Spanish fruit in the UK market. The campaign, which includes advertorials and tastings, started at the end of October, to coincide with the beginning of the harvest, and runs through to the end of the season in January.
In this particular region, 95% of the cherimoya is the 'fino de jete' variant, although there are three variants in total. To provide an assurance of excellence this fruit is certified by the Costa Tropical's Denominacíon de Origen which was created in 2002, and has been exporting fruit under the trademark 'Anona's' since 2003. “There are five companies which trade under the Denominacíon de Origen: El Romeral, Agrojete, Latino Tropical, Los Cursos and Frutas Fajardo and these trade with nearly 1,000 producers,” says Ramón González Garcia, the institution's secretary general. “The Denominacíon provides a guarantee of the cherimoya's quality and origin.”
Of the 40,000 tonnes produced in the Rio Verde, González Garcia hopes 5,000 tonnes will be certified under the Denominacíon this season. The domestic market is the largest, but 2m kilos are exported to Europe, and Germany (where Foods from Spain launched a similar promotional campaign a few years ago) is one of the strongest markets.
The sub-tropical microclimate of the Costa Tropical, which rarely drops below 10°C at night, provides the perfect climate for the exotic cherimoya fruit, which has a creamy sweet flesh and a hard, green, grooved skin and is most often eaten in a similar way to the avocado – cut in half, scooped with a spoon, avoiding the pips. This fruit has been available in the UK for some time, but it is still relatively unknown among British consumers, which is why this year Foods from Spain has added the fruit to its campaign to raise the profile of fresh Spanish fruit in the UK market. The campaign, which includes advertorials and tastings, started at the end of October, to coincide with the beginning of the harvest, and runs through to the end of the season in January.
In this particular region, 95% of the cherimoya is the 'fino de jete' variant, although there are three variants in total. To provide an assurance of excellence this fruit is certified by the Costa Tropical's Denominacíon de Origen which was created in 2002, and has been exporting fruit under the trademark 'Anona's' since 2003. “There are five companies which trade under the Denominacíon de Origen: El Romeral, Agrojete, Latino Tropical, Los Cursos and Frutas Fajardo and these trade with nearly 1,000 producers,” says Ramón González Garcia, the institution's secretary general. “The Denominacíon provides a guarantee of the cherimoya's quality and origin.”
Of the 40,000 tonnes produced in the Rio Verde, González Garcia hopes 5,000 tonnes will be certified under the Denominacíon this season. The domestic market is the largest, but 2m kilos are exported to Europe, and Germany (where Foods from Spain launched a similar promotional campaign a few years ago) is one of the strongest markets.
