Mercadona plans to buy 94,000 tons of potatoes of national origin in 2024
The Valencian chain Mercadona has torn off the potato campaign national, in which plans to market 94,000 tons this year coming from all producing areas. This figure represents an increase of 6% compared to the previous campaign and represents a “important boost” to the Spanish agricultural sectorin a context in which “the potato production area in Spain is being reduced, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA).”
“We are working on recover crops in the warmest areas to extend the national campaign as long as possible,” said Laura Merino, potato specialist at Mercadona, who added that for the company “the priority is quality and the new potato is the one that does everything what our clients ask of us.
For this campaign, which will last approximately until the end of September and even October if quality allows, the company will market potatoes grown in fields of Murcia (Cartagena), Andalusia (Seville, Málaga, Almería), Madrid, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y León, Galicia, Euskadi (Álava), the Canary Islands (Tenerife and Gran Canaria) and the Balearic Islands (Mallorca and Ibiza), thanks to the stable agreements it maintains with suppliers Hijolusa Potatoes, Meléndez Potatoes, Gómez Potatoes, Udapa, Cadimisa, Illacamp, Papacan, Mr. Chippy and Legufrut.
Mercadona now offers national potatoes in all its stores in its three main formats: in bulk, mesh of three kilos and five. As the campaign progresses, it will incorporate the national potato into the rest of the assortment: red, special for frying, for garnish and for microwaves, as reported by the company in a statement.
The volume of domestic potato purchases planned for this campaign “responds to Mercadona’s commitment to local fruit and vegetables”, points out the chain. Like every year, during the Spanish campaign and when the product has the quality that customers demand, there are 100% Spanish potatoes from different autonomous communities.
In 2023, Mercadona’s purchases in Spain reached 27,142 million euros, 22% more than the previous year. More than 85% of Mercadona’s assortment is of national origin, with products grown, fished, processed or transformed in Spain.
