Geovana Pagel*
São Paulo – Part of the 40,000 tonnes of apples to be picked by Agrícola Fraiburgo starting in February 2006, when the next harvest of the fruit begins, may be exported to the United Arab Emirates. The company, based in the city of Videira, in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, is negotiating the deal with a large importer from Dubai. "We have already sent photographs of the crop and are awaiting the beginning of the year to close the deal," stated the company foreign trade assistant, Edson Pierezan.
This will not be the first Fraiburgo export to Dubai. The Arab importer purchased company fruit in 2002 and 2003. "The Arab market is very demanding with regard to the quality of the fruit and as we depend on favourable climate conditions, it is not every year that we can export to the region," explained Pierezan. "They are looking for medium to large fruit and for the royal gala variety," he explained.
In 2002, Fraiburgo also negotiated the sale of pairs from Argentina to an Arab importer. According to Pierezan, the company target for the next five years is to double the volume of exports, rising from the current 15% to 30% of production. For this, the company is betting on an increase of sales to new markets, like the Arab. "It is a market that interests us very much. It is a new market with great potential, one that buys and pays. We have never had any problem with sales to the region," he guaranteed.
Nowadays Europe is the main Fraiburgo importer. England, Sweden, Spain and France are the main buyers.
Profile
The company produces, industrializes and trades apples cultivated at its own farms in an area of around 1,000 hectares, distributed around four cities: Fraiburgo, Água Doce and Urupema, in the southern state of Santa Catarina, and in Vacaria, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, also in the south.
Fraiburgo also industrializes other varieties of temperate climate fruit, like peaches, plums and nectarines. The group generates 900 direct jobs and during the crop, from February to June, this total may rise as high as 3,000.
Agrícola Fraiburgo was established on March 27, 1962, by the French René and Arnoldo Frey, Gabriel and Henri Evrard and Albert Mahler, who at the time had small irrigated plum and grape orchards.
The company was responsible for the success of introduction into Brazil of the main commercial varieties of apples. The first saplings came into the country in 1963 and served as experiments, in areas located in the city of Fraiburgo, up to the definition of the most appropriate varieties for cultivation: Gala, Golden and Fuji.
For 12 years the company invested in research. The results compiled over the years were provided to official Brazilian organizations, like the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) and the many management techniques developed by Agrícola Fraiburgo became models in the country.
Contact
www.agricolafraiburgo.com.br
*Translated by Mark Ament
