First Moroccan DiraFresh strawberries at Nicolai Fruit

This week, the first Moroccan strawberries of the DiraFresh brand arrived at Nicolai Fruit in Sint-Truiden. "In contrast to the Spanish
season the Moroccan season started later by two to three weeks" Johan De Gendt tells. "This was caused by the cold weather in January. In the meantime it is already warmer and we expect large volumes shortly. Normally the season runs till the end of March."

The trader explains that DiraFresh is the result of a cooperation agreement between two Belgian companies. "We as Nicolai Fruit and Dirafrost both have years of experience in the fruit sector. DiraFrost from Herk-de-Stad is a subsidiary of the Austrian group Agrana and has controlled large strawberry fields since 1994 in the north of Morocco. Nicolai Fruit from Sint-Truiden has divided its business of fruit and vegetables all over Europe for more than 20 years. The Moroccan strawberry area of Dirafrost is 60 HA."

"This cooperation offers possibilities to keep logistic expenses low and to work continually on a day-fresh basis. Thanks to the vertical integration the strawberries can be traced perfectly from field to inside the shop. In addition all pallets will be packed separately under controlled atmosphere with the result of the improvement of the display period. The combination of the Belgian and Moroccan know how make DiraFresh a hallmark guaranteeing high quality," Johan proudly says. "The whole production is completely GlobalGap certified and for the time being consist of the varieties Camarosa and Festival."

Johan mentions that DiraFresh is a new brand. "For the time being we only market Moroccan strawberries under this label. It is the first step in a plan to work with a wider gamut of products and origins. Prices are very competitive at the moment and we would like to show the good quality of the product to as many people as possible."

For the time being the packing possibilities are 10x400 and 16x250. In the future more will be possible. Each pallet is packed in a bag with controlled atmosphere.