AgrupaEjido pumpkin peppers

Almerian grower-exporter AgrupaEjido has teamed up with a Spanish hotel group to launch an innovative Halloween campaign promoting locally produced vegetables. The company has given the Anglo Saxon festival a distinctly Almerian flavour by replacing carved out pumpkin with peppers. “We’ve gone for orange California peppers as we wanted to keep the traditional look of the festival, while providing a local twist,” said a spokesman for the company.

The peppers will provide a backdrop to an evening of events on 31 October under the theme “The night of terror”. Local shops and restaurants will stay open into the small hours in a bid to attract visitors to the centre of the city, where chef Tony García will be on hand to prepare pepper-based dishes.

Peppers account for 40 per cent of AgrupaEjido’s output and the company is one of the five biggest producers in Spain. Last season the group marketed 11,000 tonnes of fruits and vegetables with a turnover of €120m. This season it is forecasting a 20 per cent increase in turnover.