The flavour tomato par excellence, which will be marketed until July, has far exceeded the company’s production and planted area figures for this season compared to previous years.
The Agroponiente Group has already started the Raf tomato season, which, like every year, reaches its climax with the arrival of the cold weather. A season that started off very positively with the summer varieties, but in which the good weather so far has led to a moderation in prices.
Already at the start of this season, Vegacañada, the Agroponiente Group’s specialist tomato company, has been at the head of the market at origin, both in terms of volume sold per day and on the price list.
In fact, at this point in time, the level of production and sales is reaching record peaks, both in sales via conventional channels and to the Horeca channel. Compared to last season, the increase in the number of kilos marketed at this point in time is 33% more than in the 23/24 season, in other words, this season 2024/2025 is currently growing by a third compared to figures from a year ago.
As with most of the rest of the produce, the Raf of the Agroponiente Group is already at figures that far exceed those of the last few seasons, which was predictable from the season forecasts, which revealed an increase in the area planted for this season.
It should be remembered that the Raf tomato production of Vegacañada and of the Agroponiente Group in general is centred on production in ‘pata negra’ areas for this product, such as Los Martínez, Los Albaricoques, Níjar, Pujaire and also in some areas of the Vega de Acá, with groups of farmers who have been cultivating and specialising in this tomato for several generations and with a total cultivated area of around 200 hectares of this product, which is a significant increase compared to the 23/24 season, when a total of 146 hectares were planted.
In terms of quality and flavour, the product is reaching very high levels, as expected due to the quality of the varieties and the experience and professionalism with which the Agroponiente Group’s growers work, especially the Raf tomato specialists who have been at the forefront of this product for decades.
Forecasts indicate that the Agroponiente Group will be selling Raf tomato uninterruptedly until the month of July, after having started in the month of August and with the most important time frame being between the months of December and March. Raf’s main destination market is the domestic market, especially in provinces such as Murcia, Alicante, Valencia, Bilbao and Madrid.
Antonio Román, Deputy General Manager of the Agroponiente Group, affirms, ‘It has been some years since the Agroponiente Group established itself as the main Raf tomato seller in terms of volume, following sensational teamwork with our growers who are specialists in this traditional tomato. Our philosophy of service to the farmer and our constant search for excellence towards the client, which is transversal in all the Agroponiente Group’s crops and also in this Raf tomato, are the basis of our success in leading the marketing of this very special, high quality product, consolidating a leading role which has been repeated for several years now’.
Communication Office.
Grupo Agroponiente.
