Taking into account the auctions it has in the province of Almeria and the marketing activity itself, La Unión provides commercial support to about 3,000 producers each season, handling an average of about 350 million kilos of fruit and vegetables annually.
"Last year, we increased our turnover and multiplied our EBITDA by 3 compared to the previous year," said Juan Manuel Andújar while watching a flow of buyers and agricultural producers who came in the morning to the auction of El Ejido. "The auction is the marketing model that thrived in Almeria and today still accounts for 30% of our turnover. Our auction in El Ejido, in fact, is one of the largest in the area in terms of volume and the one that sets the prices in the province of our greatest specialty: cucumbers, of which we handle 220 million kilos per year."
"Today, Almeria's agricultural sector is one of the few profitable ones in the European Union. For every liter of water and square meter of land, the production yield is maximized and producers can make a living from the profitability of their work. It is a reality that costs have risen, and financing is one of the greatest challenges faced by companies in Almeria, with it having gone from close to 0% to almost 6% in just a year. However, in the rest of Europe, if it were not for CAP subsidies, it would be impossible to make a living from this activity." And all of this without leaving sustainability aside.
"The Almeria sector has been working for two decades in the development of an efficient trophic network in its greenhouses for pest control, which is something we have achieved, and in the near future we hope to address also the issue of plastic waste in the province."
"We have already been recycling 100% of greenhouse cover plastics for years, but there are a number of plastics, such as floor plastics, that are more difficult to handle, because they involve more wear and tear on the machinery. So, to make the most of those materials, one company has developed a process to transform plastics of all kinds into hydrocarbons that could be available in the medium term."
"This technology is capable of transforming plastic into 73-74% diesel tech or gasoline tech, another 20% into natural gas, and 5-6% of the resulting material can be used for housing insulation, car seat fillers, etc. And the most incredible thing is that only a 20,000 m² plant would be needed to recycle all the plastic produced in Almeria."
"Plastic is not the problem; it is precisely what has allowed us to come so far. The problem is its management, and if Almeria can do a better management in line with the times, we will also be able to go further."
"When it comes down to it, Morocco has not met its commitments in the tomato programs as it should have because of viruses"
In the meantime, the campaign continues moving forward. "For cucumbers, our biggest product, we are facing an anomalous campaign, as volumes have not managed to take off since July, mainly due to the anomalous temperatures we have been having; even now, when our production is at its peak."
"As for eggplant, things are moving very slowly, with prices that are not bad, but also not excellent, and with calibers that we expect to start getting smaller in the coming weeks due to the arrival of the cold."
"Zucchini yesterday stood at about 80 cents per kilo, but regarding this vegetable, we have to mention that it is not being as profitable as it should due to viruses. In fact, many growers have been forced to uproot their plants as they have become affected, so in the end, they are harvesting lower volumes with higher costs."
"Peppers, as always, are holding steady. Red bell peppers offer the highest value, at about €1.30/kilo. Lastly, tomato prices are also good, although we are all dealing with problems caused by the rugose virus, even when we are not directly affected by it. This is due to the fact that we are forced to continuously strengthen the plants, and this, besides increasing our costs, causes productivity to fall, since stronger plants implies longer internodes, and therefore, less production," said Juan Manuel. And the rugose virus, increasingly present, is not a trivial issue. "We must keep in mind what happened to Morocco's tomato sector this year. They arranged many contracts with fixed volumes and prices with the United Kingdom, and when it came down to it, they were unable to meet their commitments because of the viruses that have attacked the plantations, mainly the rugose virus."
For more information:
La Unión
Pol. Industrial La Redonda, N-340, Km 144
04700 El Ejido. Almeria. Spain
Tel.: +34 950580800
launioncorp.com/