COOPERATIVAS AGRO-ALIMENTARIAS DE ANDALUCÍA will show at Fruit Attraction the innovative muscle of the horticultural social economy
COOPERATIVAS AGRO-ALIMENTARIAS DE ANDALUCÍA, a federation that represents the agri-food social economy of the main agricultural region of Spain, participates for the first time with its own stand at Fruit Attraction, the main international fruit and vegetable event in Spain, to be held from 4 to 6 October at IFEMA (Madrid). The organization's exhibition space is located in Hall 9, in island 9G10.
With an open concept and minimalist lines, Cooperativas Agro-alimentarias de Andalucía wants to showcase in its stand the innovative muscle of the Andalusian fruit and vegetable cooperative sector, made up of 117 entities specialized in the production and marketing of fruits and vegetables, which had a turnover of more than 3,740 million euros in 2021.
As highlighted by the president of the federation, Juan Rafael Leal Rubio, throughout its history, "the fruit and vegetable cooperatives integrated in Cooperativas Agro-alimentarias de Andalucía have shown their ability to adapt and resilience". "Proof of this is that among our entities are the main exporters of fruits and vegetables in Spain, others are a reference in the production under shelter, others in the innovation of varieties and all continue to diversify and innovate to adapt to consumer trends, "stresses the president of the federation.
Thus, among the 117 fruit and vegetable cooperatives that will have their common space at stand 9G10, highlights the Almeria producers of horticultural products under greenhouse; the cooperatives from Cadiz specialized in outdoor horticulture; the citrus of the Vega del Guadalquivir (with Cordoba and Seville at the head); innovation in tomatoes, snacks and the unique character of asparagus from Granada; the quality and color of strawberries and red fruits from Huelva; the peculiarity of cherries from Jaen; and the leadership of subtropical fruits from Malaga.
Throughout the three days, Agro-Food Cooperatives of Andalusia will host at its stand the various innovation projects in which it participates. Specifically, on October 4 and 5 will be the partners of the LIFE 4Doñana project, which works on a new system for irrigation efficiency in strawberry production in the area of Donaña (Huelva). On Wednesday, October 5, the HIBA project (Hub Iberia Agrotech), supported by the Interreg Poctep line, will perform a streaming flight demonstration from Cordoba to show the data capture platform and the project's digitization training area. Likewise, the federation will give space to the Agricore project, framed in the Horizon 2020 program, and which works on the modeling of European policies.
All this innovation will be translated into a gastronomic speech during the second day of Fruit Attraction. Juanjo Ruiz, chef manager of La Casa Manolete, in Cordoba, will perform two culinary demonstrations (showcookings) in which he will raise the fruit and vegetable productions of the Andalusian cooperatives in three proposals that are based on flavor, health and food safety.
About Cooperativas Agro-alimentarias de Andalucía
Cooperativas Agro-alimentarias de Andalucía is the federation representing the agri-food social economy of the main agricultural region of Spain. It is made up of 649 cooperatives and more than 290,000 families dedicated to agriculture and livestock. In 2021, all of them had a turnover of more than 9,800 million euros, 5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Andalusia).
15 of the 20 most exporting cooperatives in Spain are federated, and 13 of them are fruit and vegetable cooperatives, with average export ratios that reach 80% of their turnover. In fact, 38% of the business of the Andalusian cooperatives depends on the production and marketing of the federated fruit and vegetable entities.
The federation is also strongly committed to the integral sustainability of the model (economic, social and environmental), as well as to innovation, pillars on which it bases its strategy to reinforce the competitiveness of the associated cooperatives. As proof of this, Cooperativas Agro-alimentarias de Andalucía is not only publicly adhered to the UN Global Compact for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, but it is also recognized as an Innovative SME by the Ministry of Science and Innovation.