The Catalan company Torribas has recently partnered with Cádiz-based Finca El Tractor through Finca Mitjana, its agricultural division, with production in Huesca and Lleida. The deal is giving the group another 200 hectares of cultivated land and allowing it to extend its operations into the Guadalquivir Valley, one of Spain's main vegetable-growing regions.

© Torribas

The integration will strengthen Torribas's sweet potato supply and expand its range with new crops, including carrots, as well as complementary products intended to facilitate agronomic rotation in farms, such as broccoli and beetroot. By having simultaneous operations in both the northeast and south of the Iberian Peninsula the company will be able to extend its production periods, spread climatic risk, and deliver domestic products for more months of the year.

"The integration with El Tractor will allow us to offer our customers a more controlled and reliable supply that better matches demand, while also adding new, more export-oriented products," says Borja Casamitjana, Operations Manager at Torribas and fourth-generation member of the family behind the company, which has more than 90 years of history in the fresh produce sector.

© Torribas

"The deal will also allow us to increase our potato production, particularly during the new potato season in Andalusia. After a difficult year due to the impact of rainfall, low yields across Europe point to a likely increase in the acreage heading into the next campaign," says Borja.

The company produces around 50,000 tons per year, primarily potatoes and onions, along with approximately 7 million calçots (a type of green onion). Around 60% of its production goes to supermarket chains, with the remainder sold through wholesale markets.

The Figueres onion is one of its flagship specialities. "My great-grandfather was the one who brought that onion from L'Empordà to El Borne, and I believe we might currently be the company marketing the highest volumes. Together with our calçot production and our traditional white-fleshed potato varieties, we are really championing Catalan gastronomy," says Borja. The company is well established with its brands in Catalan supermarket chains and at Mercabarna, though it also works with customers across the rest of Spain.

© Torribas

The partnership with Finca El Tractor is happening in the framework of a strategy based on greater production integration and professionalization. "Agriculture is going to stop being a commodity; there is an ever-growing need for professionalization. You need tight control over the land and a secure, quality supply. These are medium- and long-term projects," says Borja.