Well Pict extends its marketing scope over further EU-countries.

The huge productive potential of the strawberry suppliers of Well Pict has enabled this exporter to develop an ambitious project and extend its market scope beyond its usual market. Thus, they will extend their commercialization over the rest of the European Union with outstanding-quality cultivars, as are Sabrosa, Festival, Honor, and Cal Giant 5, all reunited under a common brand, Well Pict.

The common market that has arisen out of the establishment of the European Union has permitted the full development of exports in Europe. Whereas some years ago in-country markets represented the main marketing channels available, nowadays exports are the clearest target of a large part of the Spanish crop. Within the strawberry sector, foreign trade has turned out to be the main destination for the crop, with markets like the British, French, Dutch, and that of the Scandinavian countries.

To this regard, producers’ specialization, both as concerns growing techniques and cultivars, has boosted exports still more, up to a point that the target market determines the variety which is grown at origin.

The best example of this is the British market, where quality is regarded above any other parameter, and where exporters and importers have found varieties that match the requirements of its consumers, namely Sabrosa, Festival, and Honor (Well Pict cultivar), among others. “A ninety per cent of the Sabrosa production is of premium quality, which makes it ideal for the British market“, explains María Delgado, manager of Well Pict Espana, an exporter whose main target market is the United Kingdom today.

This variety specialization, which could not even be though of just 5 years ago, is accompanied by another noticeable progress, namely production schedules. Today, it is not so important to attain large volumes, but rather to attain quantities that adapt to the consumption levels of final consumers. This has made conjoint schedules a must for the whole supply chain. “We work jointly with our suppliers to plan the season, both as regards production and cultivars, in order to prevent peaks of production. To this respect, we wish to seize the opportunity offered by the huge productive pontential of our farmers and open the way to new markets apart from the British. This is why we have created our own brand, Well Pict, as a means of marketing high-quality strawberries in Europe”, comments Edward Grieve, who considers this new project within a general context of expansion of their exports achieved through a number of agreements with the main customers of their affiliates in France, the Netherlands, and Portugal.

This is in short a common market for a global strawberry sector, with the production of Huelva being regulated according to the needs of the customer, and where specialization has determined the development of the commercial relations between producers and large stores.

September 5th 2005