CASI also sells Raf tomato on-line

In December the Spanish tomato leaders started up online sales via www.rafdecasi.com of their “premium quality” tomato, a Raf painstakingly cultivated by experience specialist farmers, combining their efforts to achieve […]
Thu 13/02/2014

In December the Spanish tomato leaders started up online sales via www.rafdecasi.com of their “premium quality” tomato, a Raf painstakingly cultivated by experience specialist farmers, combining their efforts to achieve an unparalleled sweetness, tender and ideal for serving or gifting as a high quality product. In the current 2013/2014 campaign, CASI expect to trade around 7 million kg of Raf tomatoes through their online store, auctions, supermarkets and gourmet shops. Due to the product’s quick ripening features, most of the output, around 90%, is traded in the domestic scope, whereas only 10% is shipped abroad, exclusively to European countries. The crop area given over to this excellent tomato variety is estimated at around 100 hectares. 
As their website explains, Raf is a very delicate tomato that requires special conditions and growing techniques; these include poor soils, very little irrigation and with highly saline waters, with salt concentrations up to ten times higher than normal. The plant’s roots are weak so must be handled with care; it is not very productive and highly disease-prone. 
Since it is the most delicate and highly valued product, the cooperative has created specific containers for this tomato, high-quality and carefully designed. In their online store, the purchasing system consists of four simple steps.     
The www.rafdecasi.com site also explains how consumers can distinguish it from other varieties: “It’s a smaller product in general, with deep grooves, irregular in shape and a deep green colour. However, it is characterised by an excellent flavour and sweetness impossible to find in other varieties.” They also provide recipes to prepare it, such as tomato and cod salad or Raf tomato vinaigrette with basil, although ideally it should be eaten fresh with a pinch of salt and extra virgin olive oil.