Our
history
since 1944
Cooperativa Agraria y Ganadera San Isidro (CASI) was founded in 1944, after a group of farmers from the farms surrounding Almeria joined together with the aim to sell their products in the town’s market.
The first years of CASI were focused on selling the vegetables of their partners daily. Since the beginning a big production of potatoes grown locally during the winter had a special importance. A high-quality product due to the warm climate and the expertise of the farmers.
Nowadays
Leaders in Europe
Cooperativa Agrícola y Ganadera San Isidro, has consolidated its position in the horticulture sector and has managed to become one of the biggest fresh tomato retailers worldwide.
This leading position hasn’t been achieved without effort. All the major players in CASI’s activities have contributed with their experience and hard work in order to achieve a long list of objectives: quality certifications, product presentation, client suitability, seeking new markets, retain existing customers, streamlining the facilities, mechanisation of production process, enlargement of the facilities, staff hiring, improvement on the resistant varieties, biological and integrated control, new cultural practices, better field facilities, among many others in order to offer the best possible product as befits a tomato specialist as CASI.
The 90s
The take off
The 90s were growing years thanks to the increase of the production and the enlargement of our facilities. By then, the auctioning exceeded one million kilos per day during the peak season.
New packaging meant to increase our efforts towards standardisation and quality control, and the company not only did grow in building size but also in services for our partners (technical advice, supplies, irrigation, hardware, workshop). A big step forward was the recognitionas Fruit and Vegetable Producer Organisation by 1992, which led to adjusting our work to the European Community criteria.
In this decade also appeared new challenges to strengthen CASI’s leadership in the market. The appearance of new production areas in third countries or virosis problems forced CASI to readapt to the circumstances focusing on the quality and the presentation of our products in the markets and opt for diligent farming practices, which led to further achievements.
The 80s
Consolidation
The 80s finally consolidated the auctioning at origin system. It also supposed the final consolidation and improvement of a model that became the organisation’s symbol: the partners were able to prepare and pack their products in their own premises, transportation was also individual and the auctioning at the organisation’s premises.
Time has proven that this method adds value, as it is flexible when situations are changeable and it adapts to the agricultural holdings of our partners.
During these years we also had to implement measures to adjust ourselves to an increasingly competitive marketplace. In this sense, it is important to highlight the more strict requirements for the standardisation of the product, more quality control tests and the arrival of new packages.
Concurrently, the farmer/partners of CASI also contributed to this renewal by improving irrigation systems (drip irrigation, greenhouses) and new tomato varieties, which were more sturdy during transportation and more homogenous in presentation. A series of events that allowed the synergy between production and commercialisation activities leading to the consolidation of CASI as one of the biggest tomato auctioneers in the world.
The 70s
Opening up to Europe
En los años setenta la Entidad protagonizó interesantes acontecimientos como son las constantes gestiones en pro de la exportación de tomate al resto de Europa:
Agreements to take part in MERCOSA (State company) to manage the tomato selling activities, association feasibility studies by the Unión Nacional de Cooperativas to export tomatoes, get the Exporter’s license and improvements in the standardisation of the product.
All these was a reflect of the increasing production of tomato among the increasing numbers of partners. This consolidated the organisation and defined the action plan to specialise in this product which it turned to be so large that the premises had to be enlarged twice before the decade was over. Tomatoes became the most popular product in the Co-operative and soon overshadowed other traditional crops such potatoes, which nonetheless contunued to be sold at the market stall.
The 60s
A new start
The success of the system, in the end of the decade, to buy the plot of land in which to build a warehouse at Los Partidores, a small town between Almeria and the town of La Cañada de San Urbano, where our Headquarters are still located.
1969 is the year when we inaugurated our first warehouse in order to carry on with the auctioning “corrida” system that is still in use, with all the improvements that technology and experience have added up.
The first years
Potatoes as an emblem
The potato production reached such high quantities that the seed needs rocketed to impressive numbers. Around 300 tonnes at the end of the decade, most coming from the North of Spain (Navarre, Palencia, Galicia), but also from abroad (Ireland). At the same time, at the end of the 50s farmers of the Almeria Orchards started growing their vegetables in soils with sand, but mostly in the arid area that runs across by the seaside on the East of the city of Almeria.
The large production as a result of the new cultivation systems using sand and the good performance in the markets, made our small market stall at Almeria’s Central Market insufficient, resulting in improvising small warehouses to sell, auctioning and downward auctioning the products, which soon became a very popular method.
CASI’s objectives
CASI’s history has always been attached to Almeria. Our mission is to offer our farmers a place to develop in a growing industry.
CASI’s mission
- LEADERSHIP. Maintain our leadership as tomato producers, by continuously innovate, and improving quality keeping in mind the traditional essence.
- SERVICE. Serve the markets overcoming our clients’ expectations.
- PARTNERS. Contribute to the specialisation and development of our partners.
Important
data
+250mill.
Kilos per season
+250
Million euros
2000
Hectares in total
Partner
numbers
1500
Farmer partners
2000
Producers in total
1500
Workers in total
