SPAR Gran Canaria and Valleseco farmers renew their agreement to promote the consumption of the reineta apple

 

SPAR Gran Canaria and seven farmers have renewed today, for the third consecutive year, their collaboration agreement to promote the marketing and consumption of the Reineta apple grown in Valleseco. The agreement, which has once again had broad institutional support from the Government of the Canary Islands through GMR Canarias, the Island Council of Gran Canaria and the Valleseco Town Council, is once again the vehicle that will guarantee the marketing and distribution of between 12 and 14 tonnes of Reineta apples, grown in Valleseco, in SPAR supermarkets in Gran Canaria.

 

The Reineta apple campaign will return to its usual dates this year. Farmers plan to harvest apples from the last week of September, making the product available to consumers from the beginning of October until the end of the year in SPAR supermarkets in Gran Canaria.

 

The Canarian supermarket chain has signed this third edition of the agreement with one more farm than in the last edition, adding a total of seven signatory farmers who grow the Reineta apple in: Finca Madrelagua, owned by farmer Jerónimo Montesdeoca; Finca El Prado, owned by farmers Juana María Herrera and María Belén Rodríguez; Finca La Laguna, owned by farmers Antonio Domínguez and Juan del Pino Santana; Finca Los Pereros, owned by farmer Raquel Guerra; Sidrería Niebla; and the new addition of Finca El Prado-El Catire, owned by farmer Marta Santana.

 

The addition of a new farm to the agreement will also help to sell a larger quantity of produce during this season. The 2023 Reineta apple campaign ended with the sale of 10.800 kilos of local produce, figures that are expected to increase by between 1.200 and 3.200 kilos more during this campaign, reaching a sales of between 12 and 14 tons of Reineta apples before the end of this year.

 

After the renewal of the agreement, the signatory farmers conveyed their assessment of this campaign's production, which is expected to be higher than last year's, due to the natural process of apple tree cultivation, known as vecería, in which years of more abundant harvests alternate with others of lesser production. In addition, they indicated that, due to the sudden changes in temperature during last winter and last spring, the trees will have early flowering, allowing the first fruits to be picked soon, and late flowering, estimating that these apples will be picked during the month of November. A campaign that they foresee as positive, despite the lack of rain during the last months.

 

 

With the renewal of this agreement, SPAR Gran Canaria is once again committed to apple growers to purchase their produce with the guarantee of marketing their crops at a fair price that covers their production costs, shortening payment terms to provide liquidity to these producers and taking charge of transporting the apples from Valleseco to the Fruit and Vegetable Division of SPAR Gran Canaria in Mercalaspalmas, from where the product will be distributed to points of sale on the island. 

 

Following the same dynamic as last year, SPAR Gran Canaria will provide farmers with its infrastructure in Mercalaspalmas so that a larger quantity of apples can be stored. In this way, farmers will be able to carry out larger and less frequent harvests, since the product will be stored in cold chambers that will allow it to remain fresh and in optimal conditions for longer.

 

Institutional support of the agreement  

 

The agreement was formalised once again this year at the Valleseco Organic Market with the attendance of the President of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, Antonio Morales; the Councillor for the Primary Sector of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, Miguel Hidalgo; the Mayor of Valleseco, José Luis Rodríguez; and the President of SPAR Gran Canaria, Ángel Medina.

The event was also attended by the island director of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, Alejandro Baez; several councillors from the municipality of Valleseco and, on behalf of the Government of the Canary Islands, the representatives of the Management of the Rural Environment of the Canary Islands (GMR Canarias).

 

Following the signing, the president of SPAR Gran Canaria, Ángel Medina, said: “We are proud to be able to continue supporting the produce of our land and maintain our commitment to the Canarian primary sector, offering our customers a high-quality local product, such as the Valleseco reineta apple, while guaranteeing farmers the sale of their crops at fair prices. 

 

 

We are fully committed to local produce, as evidenced by the fact that last year's campaign produced almost 3.000 kilos more apples than initially planned. This is good data that shows that our customers appreciate this local product and that we hope to significantly exceed during this year's campaign."

 

In his speech, Antonio Morales highlighted that "three years have passed since a successful initiative that not only guarantees the income of 7 farmers (4 of them women) and the sale of 10.000 kilos of first-class Reineta apple harvest. The sale takes place over five months, with excellent quality, thanks to the SPAR Gran Canaria (Cencosu) facilities in Mercalaspalmas, those of the City Council, and the technical support of the Department of the Primary Sector, which is finalising the creation of a producers' association with the growers." 

 

Morales went on to explain that “these agreements have led to improved and stable prices, as before these agreements less than 1 euro per kilo was paid, while now it stands at 1,75 euros per kilo. Thanks to this, the improvement and expansion of farms continues to grow, which could lead to a 40% increase in the 2024 harvest. In addition, this year 341 trees of the Reineta variety will be distributed” and recalled that “the initiative arose in meetings between representatives of the Cabildo, the City Council and the producers, with the aim of guaranteeing the sale of the highest quality fruit and using the rest in the cider houses on the island”.

 

For his part, the Councillor for Primary Sector of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, Miguel Hidalgo, explained the actions that are being carried out within this project, among which are “the selection of extra and first category fruit by farmers; personalized advice and in the field to these farmers in the management of their crops and the control of pests that usually affect them, through a COAG technician, with the means provided by the Cabildo such as fly traps; the use of boxes labelled with the Gran Canaria Apples brand, with the aim of improving the image of the product on the shelves; marketing, in the SPAR Gran Canaria supermarket network, implementing it on their shelves with marketing support material; and the coordination of the different actors and actions from the Ministry of Primary Sector, Food Sovereignty and Water Security”.

 

Likewise, the Mayor of Valleseco, José Luis Rodríguez, thanked the representatives of the Cabildo “for having approached and maintained their support in the promotion of fresh apples, the star product of Valleseco, together with the SPAR supermarkets in Gran Canaria. It is especially important to highlight the commitment that the Cabildo has made together with the Valleseco Town Council to the reineta apple grown in the municipality. We are working together to have an establishment to channel all storage, with cold chambers and logistics for the entire primary sector of Valleseco”. 

 

The mayor stressed in his speech that “we have seen in previous seasons that this agreement is being an incentive for Valleseco farmers to take care of their apple trees and to ensure that the production of fresh fruit from the Valleseco reineta apple can have a greater reception, in addition to what we have been achieving for some years with cider. We would like to express our gratitude to the SPAR supermarkets in Gran Canaria for the great reception they have given to this product, which we hope they will continue to maintain in the coming years to continue promoting a product that will make the primary sector, especially that located in the midlands and on the peaks of the island, recover and once again represent a part of the local economy of Valleseco”.

 

About SPAR Gran Canaria

SPAR Gran Canaria is the only supermarket chain with 100% Canarian capital present in the 21 municipalities of the Island. In a total of 196 establishments, SPAR Gran Canaria offers fresh 'KM' products. 0' of the highest quality, which make it a leader in the sale of fresh fruits and vegetables.