At the beginning of March, a number of members of the growers association Pamosa went on a research trip to southern Spain. In the well-known horticultural regions of Almería and Murcia, the cultivation of peppers is now a familiar sight. Just like in the Netherlands, peppers are grown in all shapes and sizes. The aim of the research trip, which was partly supervised by a number of employees of breeding company Syngenta, was to gain a better picture of the development of the cultivation in Spain by visiting various production companies, pilot companies and marketing cooperatives. ZON Magazine reports.

During the trip, growers who supply peppers to ZON in the winter period via their own Spanish sales cooperative were the main focus. Spanish peppers have been sold through the ZON auction for a number of years during the winter period. An important advantage for ZON and its growers is that this means that buyers are also bound to the market place of ZON in winter and that they do not have to shop elsewher.

Growers in the Almería region harvest peppers from October to April. The overlap with the growing season for Dutch sweet pepper cultivation is therefore not very big. The situation is different for the Murcia region, wher bell pepper growers are on the market from April to October, just like their Dutch colleagues.

During the company visits, the accompanying Pamosa members could see with their own eyes how Spanish growers are fully focused on producing as cheaply as possible. Particularly by omitting the topping and turning, in combination with less frequent harvests, the personnel deployment amounts to 1.5 FTE per hectare. By comparison, cultivation and harvesting work is carried out on average at about 4 FTEs per hectare in Dutch pepper companies. With a significantly lower hourly wage and the almost complete lack of energy costs, the cost per m2 in Spanish companies is significantly lower than in the Netherlands. On the other hand, the yield is also much lower: in the companies visited, an average of about 9 kilos per m2 was harvested, while in Dutch companies about 30 kilos per m2 is the norm.

Quality
It was impressive for Dutch growers to see the major steps that Spanish growers have made in recent years in the business operations and the quality of the cultivated product. The massive use of organic control and netted greenhouses makes it possible to control the disease pressure of harmful insects. Mildew and botrytis are common due to the relatively cold and humid winter months.

The expectation in Almería is that the pepper area will continue to grow in the coming years at the expense of growing tomatoes. The Spanish growers that were visited indicated that they were positive about the development of the consumption of the different pepper variations. It also became clear that especially the large marketing cooperatives in Almería are increasingly asking the seed companies to pay more attention to the flavour component during breeding, because that seems to be increasingly underexposed.

It was instructive for the Pamosa members to be able to take an intensive look in the kitchen with a number of Spanish colleagues over three days. A regular visit to southern Spain therefore remains on the agenda of Pamosa. It is important and interesting to see how the area, the cultivation and the growers are developing here. In addition, it appeared to strengthen the mutual bond between the members to go out together as a club for a few days.