Spain

Arkadia Food International is known for being a company that strives to offer fresh produce throughout the year, mainly in the European Union, although in recent years they have expanded their destinations to other countries. A good product, quality, food safety and good prices are the 4 pillars of this company from Murcia with its own produce.  
Citrus, lettuces, celery and tomatoes are Arkadia’s most significant categories. In summer, it widens its portfolio with stonefruit, melons, watermelons and grapes. They select the best farmers in Murcia, Cartagena and Águilas in addition to the produce from their own group (Natural Salads & Verco) with 4,000 hectares of arable land. Thus, with direct control over production, Arkadia guarantees quality for its customers and the end consumer. Their most noteworthy certifications include GlobalGAP, BRC, IFS, F2F and Tesco.
Last season, Arkadia saw sales worth € 50 million, and for 2014 they are forecast to reach € 70 million, which demonstrates the good prospects for this Murcian company. Arkadia works year after year to exceed its clients’ expectations and needs. To do so, their main objective is to provide a year-round supply. This is why they have a sales network and logistics to ensure that the produce from Murcia’s countryside arrives at its destinations as soon as possible and in the right conditions. Arkadia mainly exports to European Union countries, but has also opened up trade in Russia.
Founded in 2008, Arkadia Food International is part of the ABM Group, with over 25 years of leadership and experience in the European fruit and vegetable industry.

Gearing up for the second year of their ‘We Care, You Enjoy’ campaign, Francisco Góngora, chairman of the Andalusian interprofessional organisation Hortyfruta, which together with Proexport is funding the second year of the campaign, commented: “We will be applying the same guidelines as last year, since we achieved our objectives. So for the moment, in view of the good results we are getting, we are continuing with the same action plan”. Góngora also confirmed a number of actions that are being implemented during this campaign, such as promotions in major supermarkets, signage on trolleys, promotion in health centres and radio and TV advertising. The campaign is a big item in Hortyfruta’s marketing plan and will give European consumers a better knowledge of fruit and vegetables from Almeria.
More European interprofessional collaboration
Together with this initiative, the inter-branch organisation for fruit and vegetables from the Andalusian province of Almeria is also pursuing other goals such as keeping in contact with similar organisations in order to achieve closer relations, both within Spain and in Europe, with the aim of working together and achieving real, effective interconnection, Góngora explained. “We are also going to develop or achieve closer ties with other organisations such as retailers, consumer associations, environmental associations and vegetarian and vegan organisations to find out exactly what their concerns and interests are, give them a clear idea of the work we do in protected crops, communicate the advances that have been made in agricultural practices and show them the benefits of our fruit and vegetables”, explained the Hortyfruta chairman, who added: “So we want to arrange visits to Andalusia with these organisations, as well as carrying out joint projects to tackle the problems we are all concerned about”.
Another important task that Hortyfruta will continue to undertake in 2014 is collecting data for the Census of Producers, a register that will include all the farmers and will be a useful tool for planning future strategic action.
Rural hygiene, now and in the future
Speaking of the challenges of rural hygiene and of raising the standards for products such as melons and watermelons, Francico Góngora pointed out that “Hygiene is indispensable for the quality and competitiveness of the sector. It means adapting the natural environment to achieve the best conditions for cultivation and production. For this reason, it is one of Hortyfruta’s objectives. Progress has been made but we are always working on it, developing proposals for the relevant authorities and obtaining their support for putting the proposals into practice. In 2014 we will also carry out a study to collect and organise all the information we need to analyse the initial situation concerning rural hygiene”.
Francisco Góngora proffered constructive criticism of the organisation he chairs, stating that it has unfinished business in “uniting us all and giving us the strength to address the needs of the sector. We are missing two farming organisations, but we are trying to talk to them and get them to join our great project, Hortyfruta”.
Góngora wants to remind all the farmers that “farmers are the basis of the interprofessional organisation. We have been representing the sector ever since the greenhouse production process began. That is why, when we had this catastrophic storm, we issued a press release in support of those who had been affected and, naturally, had a meeting with the regional agricultural Minister to request compensation for the farmers who had been hit, and she told us what action the Andalusian regional government was planning to take”.
Finally, the HortyFruta chairman emphasised that the Almería fruit and vegetable interprofessional organisation’s job is to “defend the interests of the sector and be the voice that carries our requests and demands to the authorities”.