Unity that bears fruit

If life gives us lemons, then we should make lemonade. And if the Algarve gives us citrus fruits, and the good ones, what do its farmers do? They get together and create the biggest Citrus Fruit Producer Organisation in Portugal. We started out in the 1980s as Frusoal – Frutas do Sotavento Algarve, Lda, at a time when around 70% of domestic citrus fruit production was already concentrated in the southernmost region of Portugal.

We set up home on the land which has the best soil and climate conditions for growing citrus fruits and where the sun shines the brightest throughout 365 days of the year. Based in Vila Nova de Cacela, in the municipality of Vila Real de Santo António, we began working on 3rd May 1990, through the hands of 24 producers. At the time, our initial activity was focused on the production, packing, marketing and sale of citrus fruits in traditional markets, as well as other fruits, such as figs, and horticultural products to the national markets.

Because unity bears fruit, in our three decades in business, our number of members has multiplied. From an initial production of 3,000 tonnes per year, we have increased to over 35,000 tonnes of citrus fruits, in a total area of around 1,500 hectares, spread across the Algarve.
We are proud to be Portuguese, wholesale market leaders and with a prominent position in the main Portuguese food retail chains, but we are geared towards the world. Due to our geographic location, we can ensure the shortest possible delivery time and maximum freshness and quality. Because we are fresh fruit that ripens naturally on the tree.

In recent years, in order to diversify production, we have invested in the production of persimmons, avocados and organic citrus fruits.
We are the essence of our orchards at your table. We are flavour.

Because we are a company geared towards the future, we invest in Innovation, Research & Development. Helping to implement more sustainable farming practices, finding solutions against diseases that threaten citrus farming and adding value to our products are some of our causes as agents for change in the Portuguese productive sector. That is why, over the years, we have been establishing a number of partnerships with universities, institutions and producers.

Keep up with our innovation, research and development projects on the blog.

We’re in the Algarve, but we’re of the world.
In recent years, our aspiration to take Portuguese citrus fruits further afield has borne fruit. Currently, 75% of our production is absorbed by hypermarkets and supermarkets in the domestic market and 25% is for export. We have a consolidated presence in European markets such as Spain, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Poland and Switzerland. More recently, we entered Canada and are investing in new countries, such as Italy and Scandinavia.