COOPVAL
"The Best of Our Land, for you"
COOPVAL was founded in 1969 as a cooperative uniting local Rocha Pear producers and it is currently the biggest of its kind in Portugal. This status is the result of the efforts of a versatile team, with a strong Know-how in the sector and very advanced technology in the storage and conservation of all the fruits it works with.
The production and storage are compliant with international food security policies for a thorough control on the quality of the products. It is fully certified by: GLOBALGAP, LEAF, Tesco Nurture and it also holds the BRC Certification.
In 1977 COOPVAL started going international by exporting its products to Brazil for the first time. From then onwards more countries like Canada, England, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Russia, France and Spain followed as well.
Nowadays more than 80% of all COOPVAL’s production is destined to exportation. This is only possible as COOPVAL maintains an excellent response capacity to satisfy its clients requests, placing their products on the market in the least period of time thanks to their excellent facilities and top notch technological equipment. The cooperative has 50 CA cold store cameras with capacity for 17,000 tons, 13 NA cold store cameras with capacity for 7,000 tons, 1 ripening camera with capacity for 20 tons and 2 test cameras with capacity for 4 tons.
Its roof with an area of 24,000m² is covered with 700 solar panels generating power for its operations. In addition to this all organic waste is composted and supplied to the municipality for the fertilization of municipal gardens, making COOPVAL an organization with a great ecological responsibility.
Rocha Pear
"The Queen of Pears"
Pera Rocha do Oeste D.O.P is a very special variety of pear that originates from Portugal. Its story dates back to 1836 when Mr. Pedro António Rocha found a different kind of pear tree on his property, called Fazenda Rocha in the Oeste region of Portugal. He was surprised to own such a particular variety of pear with amazing quality which he shared with his friends and even gave them cuttings of his tree. With this, the variety spread and gained renown throughout the Oeste region where the local microclimate accounts for ideal growing conditions. In tribute to its owner, this fruit started to be called Pera Rocha.
A Strong, beautiful and sweet delight.
Rocha in portuguese means rock, which is an analogy for its endurance. The pears of Rocha variety can hold fresh and keep their qualities for a considerable period of time, making it a great choice not only for our tables but also for modern distribution. Thanks to this, no loss of flavour happens during transportation (even long hauls) and storage, being the reason why, among the main clients of Rocha Pear, there are some of the best retail chains worldwide.
Its yellow tones and range of calibers make it stand out when sided with other varieties. The versatility of this fruit makes it possible to deliver either sweet, firm and crunchy pears or soft, juicy and sweet pears depending on the customers’ preferences. Pera Rocha is a healthy fruit full of vitamins A, B1, B2, C, diuretic fibers, with strong concentration of potassium and antioxidants, therefore, it is highly recommended to be consumed raw and with peal. It is also a great addition in many portuguese traditional recipes.
