Earliest ever crop:

The Well-Pict European farm in Portugal has started picking earlier than ever before this season; the first harvest of Festival was on the 29th November, almost a month earlier than the first fruit was picked last season (22/12/03).

The team in Portugal has put in an additional 16ha of Spanish-type tunnels and two new hectares of hydroponics. This brings the total in production for the 04/05 season to 36ha (34 covered and 2 uncovered). This area is made up of Festival, Sabrosa (Candonga), PS 592 (Endurance) and Camarosa.

This selection should allow them to continue harvesting until the middle or end of August with PS 592. At the peak of production, the farm will need in the region of 300 harvesters. This season sees the team putting a big effort into getting it right for the UK market.

The early Festival, Sabrosa and hydroponic Camarosa have been planted for the UK; however, some of the end-of-season Festival and Camarosa are expected to go to Norway. The majority of the PS 592 crop is destined for the French market with a small percentage reserved for Holland.

As Portugal reaches the end of its season, it will switch to supplying the Spanish home market. In addition to the new tunnels, a new ferti-irrigation system has been installed that will see the whole farm monitored by computer.

Well Pict European http://www.wellpict-european.com Fruit Grower, Packer, Logistics, Marketing, Importer, Exporter - International Soft fruit procurement company: strawberry, raspberry, cherries, blackberry, apple, blueberries, grapes, gooseberries, kiwi, rhubarb, pear, plum, currants. Well Pict European Portugal http://www.wellpict-portugal.com Producers of high-quality soft fruit for export to the UK and northern Europe. Premier plant science varieties.