Unica Group is the leading Spanish vegetable exporter, according to a study published by the specialist in the food industry Alimarket in its issue of January 2016. Unica Group this remains for the second year in a row as the cooperative selling the most vegetables abroad; an achievement reached in just six and a half years since the firm's creation in 2009. Unica Group's data shows that, at the end of the 2014/2015 campaign, they has shipped over 230 million kilos of vegetables and fruits, and with the two latest additions, Parafruts and Agrolevante, it is close to reaching the goal set for the 2015/2016 campaign of exceeding 260 million kilos.
José Martínez Portero, president of Unica Group, affirms that "the key to our exponential growth has been that we've had an integrated project from the outset, with the board members of all partnered cooperatives taking part in its management, complete transparency for its members, and with a structure that allows for lower costs and greater efficiency in the operations."
Unica Group facts
Unica Group currently has nine specialised warehouses with more than 2,800 operators, who handle products from 1,750 producers with 2,000 hectares of greenhouses and 700 hectares of field crops. The turnover exceeds 235 million Euro. Germany, the UK, France, Denmark, Austria and Poland are the main destinations and the main products are tomatoes, with 80 million kilos, and cucumbers and peppers, with 40 million kilos each. Thanks to its nine partners, it is, however, able to supply a wide range of fruits and vegetables to both domestic and international markets. Furthermore, its size allows it to meet any market needs immediately.
In addition to its commercial success, there is a commitment from the nine partners of the integrated project to protect the identity of each of the member cooperatives, which, as stated by José Martínez Portero, "have learned to coordinate and work together to become great." Today, Unica Group brings together companies from Almeria, Granada and Murcia; specifically, the Cabasc, Casur, Cohorsan, Cota 120, El Grupo, Ferva, Parque Natural, Agrolevante and Parafruts cooperatives. It also remains open to more organizations, since "we are convinced that the agricultural concentration model works for Unica Group."
