Dr. Fruit, where the producer sells almost directly to the consumer.

THIS NEW FRUIT STORE AND JUICE STORE OPENS IN THE CAPITAL OF GRAN CANARIA THAT TRYES TO FIGHT FOR THE “FAIR PRICE”.

The business model of this company modernizes traditional fruit stores and skips the distribution chain of large stores. “Here there is no fight for the cheapest price, but for the fairest” says the president of Cosecha Directa, Antonio Suárez.

The entrepreneur Ángel Perera, having worked for years on an organic farm, decided to reach an agreement with the Cosecha Directa Cooperative and open, in the La Minilla area of ​​Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the fruit and juice store Dr. Fruit, where the farmer sells almost directly to the consumer, avoiding intermediaries and paying a “fair price”.

Perera lamenta que “desgraciadamente, muchos agricultores han abandonado la tierra, porque no les compensa”. According to him, el motivo es que las grandes multinacionales hacen balance de lo que cuesta el kilo en países extranjeros y barajan importar mediante intermediarios los productos que ya se cultivan en las Islas, lo que hace que el productor se vea obligado a vender su cosecha por debajo del coste. “No podemos pretender que el agricultor sea quien siempre pierda y soporte las pérdidas en olas de calor y frío”, clarify.

Ante una situación que califica como “grave” y que beneficia a las empresas intermediarias que reciben una subvención por transportar la mercancía, advierte que “si no tomamos medidas el sector tenderá a desaparecer, yo diría que ahora se encuentra casi en quiebra técnica”.

Perera considers that the time has come for the Canarian agricultural and commercial sector “react” with initiatives such as the one defended by Dr. Fruit, which he defines as a way to dignify the collective. This is a new business model applied to traditional fruit stores., in which distribution chains and storage periods and maturation in cold chambers are skipped, promoting the so-called “product of km 0”.

The president of the Cooperative, Antonio Suárez, describes the initiative as a commitment to modernized local stores, in which the farmer is a participant in the amount for which the product is sold. “Here there is no fight for the cheapest price, but for the fairest. You can't squeeze the producer”, manifests. Perera adds that “if growing a tomato costs 0,60 cents, they will receive at least that cost”.

Suárez explains that the jump in the distribution chain allows the fruits to not be more expensive than what they could be obtained in a large area and values ​​​​the significant step that both small producers and merchants are willing to carry out the project. “elbow to elbow”.