Morocco

"Les Vergers du Soleil" is a farm dedicated to the production of table grapes. The climate, soil, availability of labour and important easy access by road to the three main Moroccan ports led to the clear choice of this site in Marrakech.

Over the years the farm has developed an excellent reputation for supplying high quality good tasting grapes to the market place. This has naturally led to increased demand, encouraging the company to expand its production base southwards to Taroudant and to the North in Portugal. This will allow us to supply our clients with not only increased quantity but also, importantly, over a greatly extended supply window.

Portugal

"Pomares do Sol" is situated in Portugal’s Alentejo region 250 km from Lisbon. Due to a huge investment by the EU this previously undeveloped region now has guaranteed filtered water available under pressure at farm level. The Alqueva currently has 120 000 ha of irrigated land available with approval pending from the EU for another 45 000 ha.

"Pomares do Sol" has 38 ha of table grapes and a state of the art packhouse close to the farm, ideally located next to the national road to facilitate deliveries. The packhouse has all the installations necessary to accommodate not only the grapes from "Pomares do Sol" but also different products from producers around the region.

Practices

Plantations are managed according to EU expectations and standards. Pesticide and fertilizer applications are kept to an absolute minimum. In partnership with Bayer Corp Science we have developed a system of testing and reporting that assures our clients are kept at all times informed and will receive a product that is both safe and free of disease.

Environment

With water as a scare resource, responsible irrigation practices are an obligation. Fields are irrigated by drippers and volume calculated by fine tuning balance between weather, rainfall, water tables and profile holes. All the table grapes are covered by hail nets and certain orchards are "greenhouse" to advance production.

Quality

Our grapes are prepared and conditioned to the exacting standards of our clients. We supply major supermarket groups across the Continent and U.K as well as selected receivers in Africa. The farms have a well established reputation for quality with a client base that reflects that. Varieties were carefully selected with these markets in mind. The majority in production being seedless grapes.

Production Calendar

Harvest weeks
Site Type Variety 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
Morocco Seedless Early Sweet
Sugraone
Arra Sugar Drop™
Timpson
Ivory
Arra Passion Fire™
Krissy
Midnight Beauty
Seeded Cardinal
Prima
Portugal Seedless Sugraone
Ophelia
Crimson
Scarlotta
Timco
Seeded Italia Rubi

Staff

Preparations start in late December until harvest starts in May and continue until October. We employ around 500 people during this period and maintain a strong permanent workforce throughout the year. All employees, permanent and seasonal, are protected by contributions towards pension, medical care and unemployment fund. We strive to provide a safe and friendly working environment. Development, training, equal opportunities for advancement and a strong social commitment to our local community are the "raison d'être" of our farms.

Certifications

Our know-how, good agricultural practices, traceability system and social responsibility has earned the following certifications

Contact

00212 524 49 26 23

info@lesvergersdusoleil.com

00351 284 544 677

paulo.pomaresdosol@gmail.com