AGRIVABE BOASTS 34.8 HECTARES OF RED FRUIT AND TROPICAL FRUIT CROPS
Expanding and diversifying
With established production of red fruits (raspberries, blackberries and blueberries) for export, Agrivabe has expanded and diversified into growing tropical fruits, such as the mango, papaya and avocado, on rural properties in the municipalities of Tavira, Quinta do Mirante and Amaro Gonçalves.
These soft fruits and species are mainly produced in greenhouses, after the climate of the eastern Algarve has been adjusted to favour their growth. These solutions allow us to pre-empt the harvests in other European countries, and prevents premature harvesting in the traditional producing countries, for placement on European markets. Along with distribution to Northern Europe, these fruits also reach local marketplaces, for which they are harvested when ripe.
THE MULTIWINES DYNAMIC ENSURES A NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE AND PRESTIGE FOR QUINTA DE SÃO SEBASTIÃO WINES
Taking advantage of the local terroir
From its ancestral vocation for winemaking, Quinta de São Sebastião, in Arruda dos Vinhos, takes advantage of the local terroir, characterised by clay-limestone soils, sharply sloping land and a microclimate with easterly exposure to the sun and influenced by the Atlantic, without spells of intense heat. With production initially restricted by the boundaries of the property, it has become a leading producer in the municipality, both with its own grapes and those of other local partner producers. A leading player in the resurgence of the Lisbon Region, Multiwines, which markets the property’s brands, is in the process of consolidating growth in foreign markets, with two thirds of its production being destined for the United States, Brazil, Germany and Angola. The Quinta de S. Sebastião, S. Sebastião and QSS Rare ranges are its most prestigious labels and have received notable accolades.
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES, SUCH AS SOLAR ENERGY, ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT AT NATIONAL LEVEL
The value of solar energy
The openness to innovation and to new investment opportunities that characterise the Grupo Madre have led to alternative energy sources forming part of its portfolio, taking advantage of the country’s climate. This has given rise to Hypesolar Fotovoltaica, a company that has been engaged in building and running electrical energy production plants using photovoltaic technology since 2010, to supply the Public Electricity Transmission Grid. The company has six licences for an injection capacity of 12 MVA at the plants it owns at Fanhões, Sacavém, Pereiros and Coruche. These units started operating in 2014 and, by 2019, recorded total cumulative production of around 130 thousand MWh, a figure that is expected to grow.
At Hyperion Portugal, the Group is engaged in the same activity, at the 2.5-MVA CPV Évora Plant, 51% using concentration photovoltaics technology, which is little known in Portugal, but which has demonstrated significant results worldwide, and 49% using traditional photovoltaic technology.