Onucoop doubles the exports of its wines in the midst of a pandemic and already adds 50% of international turnover.
Andalusia is experiencing a great moment in international markets by reaching 34,552 million euros in exports for the first time in history in 2021, with a growth of 24.2% compared to the previous year. This is thanks to internationally successful companies such as Onucoop, specialized in the marketing of wines under the Condado de Huelva Denomination of Origin.
The second-tier cooperative was created in 2015 "with the aim of improving the profitability of the farmers of the Doñana rainfed vineyard,", explains Luis Javier Bermúdez, manager of Onucoop. “The first degree cooperatives understood that if they joined together they would have a better chance of success in marketing and exporting their wines,” y en la exportación their wines,” he continues.
Onucoop, which has partners Almonte, Manzanilla, La Palma, Villalba del Alcor, Rociana, Chucena y Bollullos Par del Condado, as well as the Seprocoop cooperative, began its international activity in 2019, so that it has exported more than one million of bottles of wine in the midst of a pandemic. In addition, "we have launched a project to change the fertilization of the dry vineyard of Doñana, which will undoubtedly mean one of the greatest advances in environmental protection in the park," acknowledges Bermúdez.
Onucoop's exports "have grown 100% year after year and currently represent 50% of the cooperative's business volume," says the manager of the company, which counts Eastern European countries such as Ucrania, Biolorrusia, Letonia, Lituania, Rusia o Polonia; as well as from Latin America, such as México o Brasil. "We are currently in the phase of setting up subsidiaries in our main markets, which are Mexico, Brazil and Russia," says Bermúdez.
The rapid growth in exports in the last two years "has conditioned our first degree member cooperatives, which have made significant investments in their facilities, tripling their bottling capacity,, to currently reach 60,000 bottles per day," he continues.
In this brief but intense international career, Onucoop has had the collaboration of Extenda-Andalucía Exportation and Foreign Investment.“Extenda has been instrumental in our international expansion. Not only because of the ease of accessing distant and unknown markets, but also because of the advice and support they give on how to tackle these new markets”, he asserts.
Specifically, the company has carried out more than thirty internationalization actions for Extenda, such as the advisory service on Marketplaces"strategic consulting and also specific actions in markets where we were interested in starting sales," he points out.
Now, its plans for the future include "consolidating the markets in which we have a significant presence and seeking greater penetration, mainly in South America," acknowledges Bermúdez.
On the other hand, "we want to continue advancing in the fertilization project of the Doñana, rainfed vineyard, with the implementation of eco-schemes, which serve as a reference as sustainable agriculture", the Onucoop manager abounds. “It must be taken into account that our cooperatives cultivate practically 100% of the vines in the Doñana Biosphere Reserve, using traditional methods, which contribute to the natural space with climate regulation, erosion control, contribution to soil formation and contribution of habitats for species, which is why it is vital for the conservation of this space”, he concludes.
