Huelva, a synonym for berries worldwide
 
Adapting cultivation techniques to the necessities of each variety, commercialisation and consumers is the big challenge of Huelva, which turned from almost solely cultivating strawberries to have a wider range of products, including raspberries, blueberries and currants. Therefore, we can speak about berries, because strawberry production still grows worldwide but in Spain the growth involves those other berries.

Spain reached a berries production higher than 345300 tonnes in 2006, of which 335500 were strawberries, 9000 t raspberries, 700 t blueberries and 100 t currants. On the basis of these figures we can say that our country has become an important berries producer worldwide because, unlikely what happens in other areas where raspberry, blueberry and currant stayed stable and strawberry grew, in Spain the most noticeable growth belongs to raspberry.

Despite that, the province of Huelva is the most important strawberry producing area in the world and the first exporter of fresh strawberry in Europe, meaning 95% of Spanish strawberry, 9% of the world production, 21% of the European total and 32% of the EU. However, there are many other producing areas worldwide, whose volumes affect the Spanish agricultural sector to a greater or lesser extent. Berries production worldwide was in 2006 about 6618828 tonnes, being strawberries worth mentioning with over 4080000 tones, followed by raspberries, blueberries and currants. The thing is, whereas the latter ones have stabilized their productions, strawberry has gone on with an unstoppable growth worldwide, prompted to a large extent by the deletion of its seasonality and the improvement of its presentation and commercial life.

As for its seasonality, it is worth mentioning that as happened with other fruits and vegetables, strawberry has developed an important off-season campaign, especially in countries as Germany, where it ranks as the fifth fruit in consumption. This all-year consumption has boosted Spanish companies to bet on improvements regarding varieties and cultivation techniques, which will make the product available even in December, so bringing forward the traditional harvesting of this fruit. Thus, the multi-variety system is nowadays common in Huelva fields. However, this practice is not exempt of polemic because it demands an adequate training and specific treatment of each variety if it is intended to optimize results and reach the highest parameters of each variety.

Not only has the production system been improved, but Huelva is pioneering the set in motion of initiatives and projects directed to improve the presentation of the product, what results in a more attractive commercialisation with a longer shelf life. Original packages such as the released by the company Lujovi along with Onubafruit, stand out in Europe and have received different awards directed to reward this differentiation.

Another step towards a better organisation and improvement of the sector has been the acknowledgement by the Andalusian Autonomous Government of the Strawberry Interprofessional -Interfresa-, which at presents gathers 50% of the producers, manufacturers and marketers. Thus, Interfresa appears as a control and arbitration mechanism whose actions will take place in moments of crisis, quite common within the last campaigns. Those moments have been characterised by low prices, often not even reaching production costs, prompted by unfair competition of other producing areas such as Morocco, according to the sector and Freshuelva on its behalf, thus favouring even more the pressure made by the big distribution. However, the situation goes further because we cannot deny that Morocco is a producer but its volumes don’t come closer with Spanish ones at all. The lack of quality in certain moments and production surplus are Huelva’s own disadvantages against itself.

Until now we have only spoken about strawberries and, although it means the most of berries volume in Spain, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries are gradually taking an important market share. Thus, for example and according to Freshuelva’s forecast, cultivation of raspberry will undergo a slight growth due to an increase of almost 3% of its cultivation area. Even though we cannot speak about cultivation transfer but about a strong complementation of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries, what allows Huelva to tender services rather than just a product.

However, the lack of renewal in raspberry plantations, which often multiply within the plantation itself, is diminishing its productive potential and also starting to cause quality and low yield problems.

Definitely, Huelva is a synonym for berries worldwide but that doesn’t mean they can leave research and renewal of production system aside. This necessity of continuous improvement and enterprising spirit will be reflected in March, by means of the celebration of the VI International Symposium of Strawberry, which along with Expocitfresa will show the world the big research projects which are being carried out at an international level.