The full integration of Coopaman, a cooperative from La Mancha that is dedicated to the commercialization of garlic, into Unica –the largest exporting horticultural cooperative in Spain– ended with the signing of the operation. The signing event was attended by the presidents of both entities, Julio Bacete and Jose Martinez Portero, the president of the Castilla-La Mancha Agro-food Cooperatives, Angel Villafranca, the directors of Agricultural Cooperatives of Spain and Castilla-La Mancha, Agustin Herrero and Juan Miguel del Real, the director of Unica, Enrique de los Rios, the president of COGECA (Cooperatives of Europe), Ramon Armengol, the Governing Council, David Rodriguez, Beatriz Turegano, and Julian Cerdán, and representatives of the management team of Coopaman, among other people.
“Today is an important day for the future of our cooperative. This is a very important step for us. Now we are full members of Unica, a national cooperative, and that increases our size. It adds value to our members,” stated the president of Coopaman, Julio Bacete. Bacete highlighted Unica’s strength in European markets and said it would allow Coopaman to expand its presence in that continent, one of the best export markets for its product.
“Coopaman has given us the opportunity to know and further develop other markets outside of Europe, first with garlic, and then taking advantage of synergies with the rest of our catalog,” stated Jose Martinez Portero, the president of Unica. “Furthermore, we have incorporated garlic into the portfolio that we offered to other European clients with whom we already worked. At the production level, we are learning a lot from a different product and that has opened our minds regarding quality and fieldwork. It has also increased our international scale,” he added.
Following Unica’s recommendations and in face of the growing demand for organic products, Coopaman is also incorporating the organic alternative. “We’re already taking the first steps and we hope that, in a few years, it will gain ground,” Portero stated.
Source: diariodealmeria.es