The Andalusian Interprofessional organisation for strawberries, Interfresa, together with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment and the EU, have launched a campaign to promote the consumption of strawberries and encourage their intake among the population. The initiative was presented this week in Madrid and will involve the development of promotional actions in France, Germany and Spain for three years.
The promotional campaign 'Strawberries Europe: Vive la Roja' has a budget of 3.6 million Euro, 50% of which will be financed by the European Union, 30% by the Ministry of Agriculture and 20% by Interfresa, the Andalusian strawberry Interprofessional in which FRESHUELVA, Cooperativas Agroalimentarias and Asaja are affiliated.
During the presentation of the campaign, Alberto Garrocho, president of FRESHUELVA, stressed that this will be the first time that Huelva's strawberry sector will join forced to undertake promotional activities.
The agency Building Ideas, responsible for the campaign's organisation, summarised the actions planned to be carried out until August 2018, which will focus on publicising the advantages and benefits of the fruit's consumption, while informing European consumers about the unique qualities of the EU's production, with particular emphasis on aspects such as quality, traceability, food safety and environmental sustainability.
Actions include media and on-line presence and direct consumer action, especially at European retailers. The promotion will be backed by familiar faces in Spain, France and Germany.
Spain is the largest producer of strawberries in Europe, followed by Poland, Germany, Italy and the UK. This campaign, a total of 6,000 hectares of strawberries have been planted, 6% less than last year, as a part of the acreage has been transformed for the production of other red fruits as part of an on-going diversification process in Huelva. Estimations point to the strawberry production reaching 300 million kilos, as noted by Alberto Garrocho.
