Iseran é un novo herbicida de Sipcam para o control de malas herbas anuais. Trátase dun novo e sostible herbicida para aplicacións en pre-emerxencia e en post-emerxencia temperá. Iseran posiciónase así no mercado como “unha solución flexible para o cultivo de millo”, explica o Product Manager da compañía Pepe Martínez.

“Iseran nace froito da tecnoloxía Microplus Technology ®, patentada por Sipcam-Oxon. Está formado por Mesotriona en forma de suspensión concentrada, a cal actúa sinérxicamente coa Clomazona, que se atopa en forma de suspensión de microcápsulas”, explica o Product Manager.

É un novo herbicida composto por dúas materias activas con diferente modo de acción. Estas materias son absorbidas polas malas herbas tanto polas follas como polas raíces, translocándose por toda a planta e logrando que non nazan as malas herbas ou unha necrose destas.

Esta nova solución ofrece unha acción herbicida inmediata da Mesotriona, mentres que as microcapsulas de Clomazona libéranse dun modo controlado, gradual e continuo, obtendo unha eficacia máxima, así como maior persistencia de acción e selectividade para o cultivo.

Este formulado ofrece unha dose flexible que permite controlar as principais malas herbas de folla ancha e estreita das zonas de millo. Ademais, destaca pola súa capacidade de integración en calquera estratexia herbicida e non ten limitacións do seu uso nos anos seguintes.

Acerca de Sipcam Iberia
Sipcam Iberia é unha empresa de I+D, márketing e comercialización de produtos fitosanitarios, bioestimulantes e nutricionais especiais, tanto químicos como biolóxicos, con vocación de liderado que elabora solucións innovadoras de investigación e desenvolvemento agrícola. Ofrece unha ampla carteira de produtos para os principais cultivos, sobre a base de produtos seguros para o agricultor, o consumidor e o medioambiente.

ICL desenvolveu unha tecnoloxía única, patentada co nome eqo.x, que consegue a biodegradabilidade total e rápida do encapsulado dos fertilizantes de liberación controlada (CRF). A nova tecnoloxía eqo.x reduce a pegada ambiental dos CRF e axudará aos agricultores para cumprir os requisitos do Pacto Verde Europeo.

Un dos principais retos aos que se enfrontan os agricultores hoxe en día é o dos cambios frecuentes nas normativas aplicables aos fertilizantes. Por exemplo, o Pacto Verde Europeo, que inclúe a estratexia «Da granxa á mesa», aspira a minimizar a pegada ambiental da agricultura. A redución das perdas de fertilizantes en polo menos un 50% para 2030 é un piar importante desta estratexia.

Os fertilizantes de liberación controlada (CRF) poden desempeñar un papel crave no cumprimento destes requisitos do Pacto Verde, xa que melloran a eficiencia no uso de nutrientes (EUN), manteñen ou aumentan a produción cunha menor achega de fertilizantes, reducen as perdas de nutrientes e, a miúdo, só requiren unha aplicación para toda a tempada.

Pero, para satisfacer os requisitos futuros do novo Regulamento (2019/1009) relativo aos produtos fertilizantes UE, ICL deu un paso máis no desenvolvemento de innovacións sostibles para os seus fertilizantes de liberación controlada.

Así, a empresa acaba de presentar eqo.x. Esta tecnoloxía de encapsulado totalmente biodegradable someteuse a exhaustivos ensaios en campo, cuns resultados similares ou mellores en canto a produción e calidade respecto ás tecnoloxías de encapsulado existentes, mantendo patróns de liberación constantes e totalmente predicibles para unha mellor xestión dos programas de nutrición.

Segundo Ronald Clemens, responsable global de márketing de CRF de ICL, «En ICL a sustentabilidade e a eficiencia no uso dos nutrientes son aspectos que consideramos prioritarios nos nosos fertilizantes especializados para os mercados agrícolas. Con esta innovación, creamos unha solución que é sostible desde diversos ángulos, contribuímos á estratexia europea “Da granxa á mesa” e axudamos aos agricultores para reducir as doses de fertilizantes sen que iso afecte á produción. Neste sentido, esta innovación adiántase á normativa actual e está preparada para as futuras normas que están por vir».

Como explica Ronald Clemens: «Levamos 15 anos traballando nuns encapsulados que se biodegraden máis rápido, ao mesmo tempo que ofrecen o máximo rendemento no campo. Xa estamos preparados para aplicalos a fertilizantes de liberación controlada a base de nitróxeno para cultivos en chan. A tecnoloxía de liberación eqo.x é exclusiva de ICL xa que está protexida por patente e estamos a investir nunha nova liña de produción nos Países Baixos».

Unha das gamas de liberación controlada de ICL que se beneficiará da nova tecnoloxía.

Hai que lembrar que ICL é pioneira na tecnoloxía de encapsulado desde hai máis de 50 anos, cando lanzou o seu fertilizante Osmocote. Desde entón desenvolveu diversas tecnoloxías de encapsulado que foron altamente eficientes e con eqo.x da un paso máis, como afirma Ronald Clemens: «Consideramos que se trata dun enorme paso adiante no uso de fertilizantes de eficacia mellorada para o mercado agrícola. A tecnoloxía de liberación controlada totalmente biodegradable poderá reducir todo tipo de perdas de nutrientes, o que se sumará a todas as vantaxes coñecidas dos CRF, como a posibilidade de reducir a frecuencia e as doses de aplicación».

En canto aos ensaios de campo e laboratorio realizados nestes últimos anos antes de lanzar esta nova tecnoloxía, pódese afirmar que con eqo.x non só dáse resposta á obrigatoriedade de usar encapsulados totalmente biodegradables de forma rápida, senón que tamén se mellora a eficiencia do uso de nutrientes ata nun 80% e redúcese as perdas de nutrientes ata nun 50%.
Por último, tras o lanzamento de eqo.x, o seguinte paso de ICL é introducir gradualmente esta nova tecnoloxía no mercado nas súas gamas líderes de fertilizantes de liberación controlada para agricultura, como Agromaster.

O próximo ciclo da Política Agraria Común (PAC), 2021-2027, aumentará as esixencias no agro no que respecta ó uso sostible de fitosanitarios. A chamada xestión integrada de pragas, que xa se estivo impulsando no agro europeo na última década, ten por obxectivo priorizar as medidas alternativas ó control químico, limitando os produtos fitosanitarios a aqueles casos nos que sexan imprescindibles. Que recomendacións hai para o manexo integrado dalgunhas das principais pragas do millo en Galicia, como as rosquillas grises e vermes do arame, malas herbas como a xuncia ou enfermidades causadas por fungos?. Estos son algúns dos consellos publicados nun manual polo Ministerio de Agricultura.

Rosquillas grises (Agriotes sp.) e vermes do arame (Agrotis sp.)

- Seguemento e estimación do risco: Recoméndase vixiar as plantas desde que nazan ata que teñan 8-10 follas para comprobar se hai plantas mortas e para detectar síntomas de que murchan. Para a rosquilla gris, pódense utilizar trampas de feromonas ou luminosas co obxectivo de contar os adultos capturados e de detectarse en cantidade, anticiparse ó futuro ataque das larvas. - Medidas de prevención ou culturais: O laboreo frecuente adoita reducir a poboación de larvas de vermes do arame, posto que son sensibles á desecación. Por outra banda, a eliminación de malas herbas ou herbas baixas é unha medida eficaz para impedir as postas das rosquillas grises. - Momento de intervención: Se se detectan danos do verme gris, haberá que intervir. No tocante ó verme do arame, haberá que valorar a intervención en relación ós danos de campañas pasadas. - Medidas alternativas ó control químico. A guía sinala que existen coleópteros depredadores das larvas dos vermes, así como parasitoides dos ovos e paxaros que se alimentan das larvas, polo que é preciso protexelos. - Medios químicos. Poderanse utilizar os produtos fitosanitarios autorizados. No caso dos vermes do arame, só se contempla o uso de insecticida na semente, en tanto que no caso do verme gris, tanto no cultivo implantado como sobre a semente. Recoméndase efectuar a aplicación ó atardecer.

Malas herbas, o caso da xuncia (Cyperus rotundus)

- Seguemento e estimación do risco para o cultivo: O consello é similar para tódalas malas herbas. Hai que ter en conta o historial do campo e valorar a eficacia que tiveron os herbicidas empregados. Cómpre ademais considerar o estado de desenvolvemento das malas herbas para determinar o método de control máis axeitado e priorizar as intervencións nas primeiras fases de desenvolvemento do millo. Para observar as malas herbas, recoméndase facer un percorrido polo campo en forma de zig zag, W ou 8, evaluando a presenza de plantas por metro cadrado ou a porcentaxe de superficie afectada. - Momento de intervención: no caso da xuncia, cando haxa 15 plantas por metro cadrado. - Medidas de prevención: Non espallar os tubérculos da planta coa maquinaria de laboreo. Outra medida pode pasar pola rotación do cultivo de inverno con barbeito no verán, cando ademais pódense facer labores superficiais para desenterrar os tubérculos e deixalos na superficie, para que queden expostos ó sol no verán ou ás xeadas no inverno. - Medios químicos: Aconséllase realizar programas de 2 tratamentos en post-emerxencia. Debido a que a planta pode producir unha gran cantidade de tubérculos, espallados mesmo a moita profundidade do solo, é unha mala herba difícil de controlar. Pódense empregar tamén herbicidas totais nas liñas entre o cultivo. Para outras malas herbas, recoméndase entre líneas de cultivo o uso de medios mecanícos (grade de varillas flexibles, cultivador, etc.) como alternativa ós tratamentos químicos.

Podredumes do tallo (Fusarium sp., Diplodia maydis)

- Seguemento: observación da base do tallo para identificar os síntomas. - Medidas de prevención ou culturais: rotación de cultivos e elección de variedades con tolerancia a estas enfermidades. Recoméndase ademais unha fertilización equilibrada, unha axeitada densidade de plantas e calquera outra práctica que reduza o estrés para o cultivo. En particular, o estrés hídrico pode ter impacto sobre a podredumbre do tallo. En caso de danos, haberá que controlar tamén os insectos que taladran a colleita, de habelos e .eliminar os restos da colleita - Medios químicos: só se contemplan tratamentos na semente, que protexen ó cultivo nas primeiras fases de desenvolvemento.

Tizón do millo

- Seguemento: observación das follas para detectar as lesións típicas desta enfermidade necrótica. - Medidas de prevención: O uso de variedades resistentes é a mellor vía de prevención. O laboreo profundo, que enterra restos da colleita, é tamén útil para evitar as infeccións tempranas. É importante evitar que ó traballar a terra saian á superficie restos xa enterrados. - Momento de intervención: Só se aconsella intervir se se producen ataques fortes nas primeiras fases do cultivo. - Medios químicos, os autorizados, en tanto a altura da planta permita a súa aplicación.

The Nairoa winery, located in the valley of the river Arnoia, is one of the Ribeiro wineries that is flying the flag for Treixadura, the dominant variety of the denomination of origin. The company has four blends on the market with Treixadura as a reference and in 2018 will launch a single-varietal wine from this grape. “This is a variety that brings distinction and elegance to the wines” – Nairoa’s director, Guillermo Diez states-. “It has now started to be recognised in the wine world and we are gradually putting Treixadura in the place it deserves in the Ribeiro”.

The winery’s main commitment in the market is focused on “Alberte”, a wine that combines 85% Treixadura with 10% of Albariño and 5% Lado a native grape of the Arnoia region, where the winery is located. “Each grape has certain characteristics, the Lado is a grape that provides freshness to the wine, while Albariño above all provides aromatic components,” stresses Guillermo Diez. “With the assembly of the three varieties, we achieve the wine that we seek which gains in complexity and interest.”

From “Alberte”, the winery annually launches on the market about 60,000 bottles, out of a total of almost 200,000 that it produces each year. “It is a wine that is engaging the attention in international markets, such as the United Kingdom, Mexico, the United States or Sweden, among others We have the capacity for growth, but we are interested in taking care of the quality more than the amount,” says the winery’s director.

Nairoa primarily works with small wine growers of Ribeiro, who maintain a stable relationship of collaboration with the winery, in controlled vineyards where the quality of the grapes is rewarded. The winery opts for autochthonous varieties, which it uses exclusively in its two main brands, the aforementioned Alberte and Val of Nairoa, a blended variety of Treixadura, Albariño, Loureira and Lado with a manufacturing process that includes the freezing of the grape’s skin.

The freezing process, which the winery exclusively uses, consists in putting the grapes in a freezing tunnel before their processing. “With this system we manage to break down the skin structure so that there is a greater contribution of aromas and tannins to the wine. It is a taste that the public looking who is for something different really likes. People who try it usually comment that it reminds them of a wine aged on lees, which is an opinion that I share, or even relate this wine with an aging in barrels, when it does not have any of these processes”, explains Guillermo Diez.

Awards
The characteristics of Val of Nairoa earned it 90 points in the prestigious International Robert Parker Guide. The winery has received many awards in recent years, although the one that they most proudly display is the first prize in the Popular Wine Tasting of the Feira do Ribeiro 2016. “It is a blind tasting where consumers taste the different wines and choose which they like best. The awards that a specialist jury give us are important, but this award is unique as it is given by consumers, and this especially excites us”, recognises Guillermo Diez.

The offer of the winery’s whites is completed with two mid-range wines, Val de Couso and Nairoa, which combines a base of Treixadura with a percentage of authorised Ribeiro varieties, such as Torrontes. “In certain markets, these are the wines that are of most interest. We find for example that in Japan, Nairoa is the wine that best works”, they tell us at the winery.

The main market share of the winery is located in Galicia, with around 60% of sales, while 25% of its wine is sold in the rest of Spain and 15% at international level. With regards to the Spanish market, in Nairoa they highlight the prestige that Galician white wines have attained, a recognition where the seals of the Galician denominations of origin contribute as, in the case of Nairoa, as well the Galicia Calidade seal, which is already recognised and valued by the consumer.

Projects
The winery is working on the launch of new wines on the market. One of the most immediate is the single varietal wine of Treixadura, which will be expected to go on sale next April. “The market erroneously calls for the new vintages too quickly, but we think that the ideal time to launch Ribeiro wines is not before March-April,” said Guillermo Diez-. “In fact, one of our wines, the Val of Nairoa, is even a second year wine, not a young wine,” he remarks.

Another of Nairoa hopes is a white on lees, which it has been evaluating for a couple of years and will be bottled under the Alberte brand. While the winery has clearly opted for white wines, it also sells a blended red wine called “Terralonga” and will complete its offer of red wines with the launch in 2018 of an “Alberte” red wine, which will be made with a blend of Mencia and Brancellao.

The Altos de Torona vineyard, located in Vilachan (Tomiño, Pontevedra), is unique in the panorama of Galician viticulture, identified by smallholdings. There are nearly a hundred hectares in a single estate, making it the largest vineyard in the Rias Baixas. The plot was planted around 2000, after the HGA group completed the purchase of private land and an agreement with a forestry community.

The location of the vineyard, located mid-slope, about 200-300 metres above sea level, is south facing and next to the mouth of the river Miño, and was thought to be suitable for wine production. Time is confirming the potential of the vineyard, as international awards have been forthcoming in the past few years.

Terraced structure of the estate.

The estate was mainly planted with Albariño, although the decision was also taken to maintain the distinguishing sign of the wines of the sub-zone of O Rosal (DO Rías Baixas), characterised by the use of other varieties of white grapes. The Altos de Torona Rosal 2013, an Albariño that includes small percentages of Loureiro and Caiño Blanco, was distinguished as being the best white in Spain at the International Wine Challenge 2014, one of the most important competitions at international level.

“Altos de Torona Rosal is a fruity wine, with a sweet touch and a soft palate that makes it different from the traditional 100% Albariños”

“Altos de Torona Rosal is a fruity wine, with a sweet touch and a soft palate that makes it different from the traditional 100% Albariños” they explain at the winery.

The 2017 edition of the International Wine Challenge, which is held in London, gave another six awards to Altos de Torona, the most important being the gold medal for Altos de Torona Albariño 2016, a young 100% Albariño grown on the Vilachan estate, in Tomino.

Another of the company’s Albariños is Pazo de Villarei, produced from grapes that are bought from Salnés winegrowers who had already been regularly working with that brand.

Markets
The winery is characterised by offering a wide range of wines, in search of different types of consumers and restaurant markets. The result of this concern to innovate is the Albariños in French oak barrels and on lees. One of the first 100% Godellos of Rias Baixas was also theirs and they also produce red wines from the Brancellao, Sousón and Caiño Tinto varieties.

“The Altos de Torona Barrel, 100% Albariño has a reduced production (1,500 bottles), but there are consumers who are beginning to ask for whites from the barrel. We can produce these minority wines because we have a winery and a team ready for these innovations,” Oscar Martínez emphasizes.

View of the plot.

Altos de Torona sells about half of its production in Galicia, while the rest is distributed among other areas of Spain and for export. “The growth potential of Albariño and our winery in particular is immense both in Spain and at international level,” they highlight at the winery, which has the Galicia Calidade seal and that stresses the international prestige attained by the DO Rias Baixas.

HGA Group
Altos de Toronas is owned by the HGA group, with another winery in the Ribeira Sacra denomination of origin, Regina Viarum, which allows it to complement the offering of Rías Baixas Albariño white wines with the Mencias of the Ribeira Sacra. In addition to having two own wineries, Altos de Torona and Regina Viarum, the group also produces wines in other denominations from agreements with various wineries.

Nor-Ibérica de Bebidas (Maside, Ourense), is specialised in the production of Galician spirits and liqueurs, and is one of the companies in the sector to have committed to giving Galician distillated spirits prestige. Its offer has two brands as quality benchmarks, Felipe Saavedra and Marquis of Marialva, covered by the Galician Spirits and Liqueurs Regulator, which last year also obtained, the Galicia Calidade seal.

The production of the liqueurs marketed with both brands is characterised by the care taken with the product. The base is a spirit distilled from the marc of Galician grapes, which is macerated in cold for 90 days with 100% natural Colombian coffee, in the case of the coffee liqueur, or with a combination of 36 herbs, obtained from the Allariz area (Ourense), in the case of the herbal liqueur. Then sugar, with a minimum of 100 grams per litre, in accordance with the rules of the Regulatory Board, completes the preparations and provides them with their characteristic sweet taste.

“The problem abroad is that they do not know about Galician liqueurs. Italian grappa has a positioning that we lack”

Juan Carlos Saavedra heads up Nor-Iberica de Ibérica, and has worked in the denomination of origin wine sector since the mid-1980s, a facet he has complemented with the production of distilled spirits for more than a decade. “We can define Nor-Ibérica de Bebidas as an industrial distillery that looks after the product in a traditional way,” he values.

Volumes
The company handles a stock of around 200,000 litres, of which 10% corresponds to products covered by the Geographical Indication for Traditional Galician Spirits and Liqueurs. “They are liqueurs that are widely accepted, especially in the communities of the Cantabrian Coast, and of which we can boast of their exceptional quality,” says Saavedra.

‘Marqués de Marialva’ liqueur range.

Outside Spain, Nor-Ibérica de Bebidas has tested markets in Germany, Switzerland and Japan, by attending international trade fairs and investing in commercial work, although the results have been limited for the time being.

“The problem abroad is that they do not know about our products. Italian grappa, for example, has a international positioning that we lack, but it is like a dog biting it’s own tail. We do not sell liqueurs abroad that are covered by the Regulatory Board because there is no promotion, but there is no money for that promotion because we do not sell,” explains the manager of Nor-Ibérica de Bebidas.

The same situation also partly affects the Spanish market, where Galician liqueurs have to compete in price in the majority of the communities, with the paradigmatic case of Madrid, with regards to the German herbal liqueur, the Jägermeister, selling around 1.5 million litres a year in Spain, with a positioning oriented at the nightlife scene with an audience of under 40.

When Panaderia Chousa started in 1959, no one could foresee that this business would become a major industry, Ingapan, which currently has a presence in 20 countries and a 75 million euro turnover. Ingapan today has nine production plants aimed at the preparation of frozen dough, of which three are for hand-crafted products. The company has a catalogue of more than 400 references in bread, ‘empanadas’, cakes and ready meals.

Ingapan’s turning point came in 1993, when what until then had been a traditional chain of bakeries was transformed into an industry oriented to large-scale production of frozen dough for bread and ‘empanadas’, with the idea of transcending into the Galician market.

“The route we have set is to take the good work of hand-crafted preparations to an industrial level”

“The route Ingapan set was to take the good work of hand-crafted preparations to an industrial level. Progress has been spectacular from that commitment base to quality and we are currently the fourth largest producer of frozen dough in Spain,” says the company’s sales director, Manuel López.

Markets
The Company’s main markets are found in Spain, Portugal, Italy and France, but its presence has already reached the other side of the Atlantic, with a delegation opening in Florida (United States) last year. Ingapan’s products maintain a diversified distribution which is distributed among major retail outlets (50%), traditional markets (20%), hotels and restaurants (20%), and other miscellaneous customers (10%).

The key to success in the company is based on three axes: quality, natural products and origin. “We look after the process beginning with the selection of the raw material. We generally work with Galician suppliers, nearly always with companies who have been working with us for years. In meat, milk or wine products, the origin is Galician. In the case of wheat, a large part of our consumption is supplied by a Galician windmill,” explains Manuel López.

“The Galicia Calidade seal is particularly important when it comes to selling products that do not have GIP, like ‘empanadas’”

“The tuna also comes from 2 Galician companies and has been certified as ‘Dolphin safe’, which ensures a type of fishing that minimises the accidental catching of dolphins. Environmental commitments with the consumer are also important,” he points out.

Galicia Calidade
The various ranges of Ingapan products have the Galicia Calidade seal as a guarantee, a certification that the company values as positive. “In products related to Galicia, like ‘empanada’, this has a special importance, because there is no Geographical Indication to protect it,” indicates Manuel López. “Every day the consumer looks more at the seals of guarantee”.

New ‘Galician Bread’ GIP
With regards to the promotion of Galician Bread in the markets, the impending implementation of the ‘Galician Bread’ GIP is greeted as “necessary” by Ingapan. “At domestic level, we needed an identifying mark. When you go to other communities, you see that bread is sold with the Galician designation when that product is prepared outside Galicia and does not follow any quality standards,” explains the company’s sales director.

“In other communities there is bread with the Galician name that is not produced in Galicia and that does not meet quality standards”

The commissioning of the Indication, as requested by the Xunta at European level, will be positive “both for hand-crafted bakeries as well as industrial plants with a hand-crafted base, such as ours, where the cutting and stretching of the dough is still being done manually,” says López. “We are already preparing to adapt our production lines to the new GIP in order to open up markets both in Spain and internationally”.

Ingapan Factory in Outeiro de Rei.

Godello, a native grape that has gained strength in recent years in designations of origin (DO) like Valdeorras and Monterrei, is being very well received in international markets. In the case of Quinta do Buble, an Oimbra winery (Ourense) of the DO Monterrei, its Godello has Germany as its first destination, a country where it has wowed and where it already has a well-established distribution.

The winery’s entry into the Germanic country was helped due to the fact that some of its partners live there, while other traditional wine markets are also not foreign to it, as is the case of Japan, Belgium and Ireland. About 80% of the Quinta do Bublé production is exported, while the remaining 20% is consumed in Galicia and the north of Spain.

“Monterrei is doing a good job and generating interest. The prestige that Galicia Calidade provides abroad is also important”

Preparations
Quinta do Buble’s work focuses on white wines, mainly Godello, while it also produces a small amount of Mencia. Its white wine of reference carries the name of the winery, Quinta do Bublé, a Godello that is made from the production of the oldest vines and that is macerated prior to its next step to the tanks.

“It is a wine that is characterised by its aromatic intensity. The majority of our vines are on a hillside area, so the production volumes are lower than in the valley, but the grape retains more aroma and freshness, says Beatriz Casado, from Quinta do Buble.

Quinta do Buble vineyard.

Another of the Godellos of the winery is Terra do Lobo, a brand that was originally designed for the United States, which goes to the tank after pressing, without maceration. The white wine chapter closes with O Roncal, a multi-variety wine that has Godello as the main variety and around 10% Treixadura, another ‘top’ native variety in Galicia.
As for the reds, Quinta do Bublé has marketed vintage Mencia in previous years, although now it is focusing on the development of young wines.

Volumes
The total production of the winery is around 120,000 litres, although it has the capacity to grow. Nowadays Quinta do Bublé is supplied from the grapes from its own vineyards, totalling around 22 hectares.

“Our vineyards are on the hillside, so we get less volume of production than in the valley, but greater aromas”

In the future, the winery plans to expand production by renting vineyards of the designation. “Our idea is to control the whole process of growth and ripening of the grapes to be able to have a greater guarantee of quality,” indicates Beatriz Casado.

At the winery, they are satisfied with the work that is being done in the DO Monterrei, because they feel that markets are being opened and interest is being generated. They also make use of the Galicia Calidade seal for their promotion abroad. “We have been using the Galicia Calidade seal for two years because it is a brand that that brings prestige when dealing with people abroad. Everything Galician has an image of quality abroad”, they emphasise at the winery.

When Modesto Toubes and Delia Cabarcos started their own San Simón da Costa cheese factory ten years ago, they found that Designation of Origin (D.O.) products already had a strong presence in the Galician market, where more than half a dozen cheese factories competed, so they chose to focus on the domestic market and particularly on the international one. Currently, half of its production is sold abroad, in the United States, Asia and Europe.

The Queixeria Casleiras, located in Oleiros (Vilalba), was created in the heyday of San Simón, shortly after the designation was expanded throughout the entire Terra Cha. “We were the first D.O. cheese factory to set up outside of the parish of San Simón,” recalls Modesto.- “At that time, both Delia had just graduated from the University and we had a some work experience in industries. It was then that the idea came to us about setting up our own cheese factory”.

“We hit the nail on the head. When we saw the market situation in Galicia, we thought that it made more sense to seek new markets”

The approach that they gave from the beginning to the marketing of the cheese, committing to introducing it to rest of Spain and abroad, proved successful. “We hit the nail on the head. When we saw the market situation in Galicia, we thought that it made more sense to seek new markets than to start competing with the rest of the San Simón cheese factories. In Madrid and Barcelona, San Simón was already a known product, not as much as today, but it worked. We also decided to look beyond because we were aware that San Simón is a cured, smoked cheese that can tolerate long journeys. We then spoke to exporters and from there we saw that our cheese was successful abroad”.

Picture of the manufacturing process.

The opening of markets was progressive and continues to this day. “It is what allows us to grow” – Modesto values. “Just a few days ago we had our first cheese order from Myammar (formerly Burma)”. The Asian market is one of the strongest at export level. Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and South Korea are some of the countries where Casleiras is present.

Production
The production of the cheese factory focuses on San Simón cheese, the majority in one kilo pieces, the most suitable to send abroad. Around 200 and 250 San Simón cheeses are hand-crafted each day.

Delia Cabarcos and Modesto Toubes at a Food fair.

They obtain their milk supply through an authorised buyer. “The milk is from the region, as corresponds to the designation of origin, and meets at the quality, fat and protein levels. The Terra Cha region is characterised for being a wet area with good pastures and forages, a feature that has an impact on good milk”.

The Sector in Galicia
Casleiras, which also sells its San Simón in Galicia through the Froiz supermarket chain, maintains a clear commitment to export, a feature that the majority of the designation cheese factories share, and in fact they set up as a joint undertaking, Queixeiros da Chaira, a few years ago to promote themselves together abroad.
In the opinion of Modest Toubes, the Casleiras’manager, the foreign market should be a priority for the Galician dairy sector. “We have some hand-crafted products with designation of origin and a quality that can compete at international level,” he values.

It is more difficult to send other designations like Arzúa-Ulloa or Tetilla abroad as they are soft cheeses, which must be eaten much quicker, although Modesto thinks that these D.Os could explore the authorisation of vacuum packaging for export, which would allow for the cheeses to be preserved longer.