Portuguese retailer Continente has agreed to purchase a total of 14.5 million tonnes of oranges produced in the Algarve region, as it seeks to expand its support for local producers.
This represents a rise of 5% on last year's numbers, the retailer said.
All oranges available at Continente stores are sourced from the Algarve, including oranges used in in-store juice machines, as well as natural orange juice for sale at Bagga cafeterias.
Producers Club
The Clube de Produtores Continente (CPC) is a producers club that works with local farmers to guarantee that premium agricultural practices are followed in the Algarve, in order to achieve the best result in the fruit. Continente's Algarve oranges are then harvested by hand.
Some 100 producers, which share the two thousand hectares of orchards between Tavira and Silvesthat, comprise the CPC, with all of the oranges receiving an IGP certification.
Ondina Afonso, president of the CPC, said the retailer has strong confidence in the oranges produced in the Algarve, and adds that having local oranges helps "at a time when our customers look for foods that can boost their immunity” due to the on-going health pandemic.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Conor Farrelly. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
