Spanish strawbs look to launch promotion

Spanish strawberry growers look set to benefit from a promotional campaign across Europe.

Clara Aguilera, agriculture secretary at the Andalusia regional executive, made the announcement last week. She was speaking at Expocitfresa, the trade fair and conference for the region’s citrus and strawberry sectors.

Aguilera described the event as the best showcase for the region’s growers and said the campaign would reinforce the image of Huelva’s strawberries across Europe: “We need to counter the attacks that have been levelled at the sector by other markets, especially the French, and return value to the image of this product and its production processes.”

No announcements were made as to the funding of the initiative, but Aguilera said the initiative would start “immediately” and would focus on the economic and social aspects of Spanish production. She said: “The strawberry sector in Huelva is vital because it generates wealth and employment and is a model sector in Andalusia and this is the message that we want to get across to our international markets.”

But any campaign of this nature will require close co-operation, she added, calling on the strawberry industry to make every effort towards integration.