Axarquía town halls strengthen ties with tropical fruit giant to promote tourism

Vélez-Málaga-based tropical fruit cooperative Trops, the leading company in the subtropical sector in the Axarquía, has met with the president of the Mancomunidad association of town halls in the Axarquía, Jorge Martín, with a view to strengthening the sector with foreign markets and tourism.

Martín visited the facilities of the agricultural company, where he was received by its new president, David Sarmiento and the general manager, Víctor Luque. The meeting served to strengthen institutional collaboration and open up new lines of joint work, especially in the field of agrotourism.

"Trops is a very important company for our region, which brings together more than 4,000 farmers, whose work is recognised for the quality of mango and avocado at national and international level. It is a source of pride that it has the Axarquia seal," Martín said in a statement, in which he stressed the need for the authorities to "work hand in hand" with local agricultural companies.

During the meeting the connection between tourism and agriculture was discussed. Martín announced that the Mancomunidad will take Trops avocados to the Lisbon Tourism Exchange (BTL) as part of the promotion of the local products of the Axarquía. "We will include them along with raisins, sugar cane honey and extra virgin olive oil, accompanying the tourist map with the 31 QR codes of our villages," he explained.

For the Mancomunidad, the commitment is to promote experiential, agro and gastronomic tourism in a part of Malaga province where the agricultural landscape is an essential part of its identity. The Axarquía has managed to position its subtropicals as a high added value product, especially after overcoming five years of drought, putting thousands of farms at risk of ruin.

David Sarmiento said, "Tourism and agriculture are two fundamental pillars in the Axarquía. Our objective as a company and that of the Mancomunidad is the same: to improve the quality of life, fix the population and generate wealth." He called for "the defence of agriculture, from its crops to its water resources", in reference to the importance of water for the maintenance of the productive model.

In this context, Jorge Martín summoned the cooperative to future technical meetings in which representatives of the public water company Axaragua will participate, with the aim of addressing issues related to water supply and planning, a strategic issue for the subtropical sector.