<p>The chestnut season started a month ago in Portugal, and this year the quality is better than in the previous campaign. Although the sizes are not as large, this year there are far fewer cracked chestnuts, according to André Pereira, of Agromontenegro, who stressed that the quality so far is really good. <br></p> <p><b>Jedia variety</b></p> <p>Agromontenegro is a family company that has been producing chestnuts of the Judia variety for 25 years in the region of Serra da Padrela, the most important region when it comes to the production of this variety."We work with about a thousand producers, and in 2015, we produced a volume of about 3,000 tonnes," he affirms. "We export 80% of the total and our most important markets are Italy, France, Spain and Brazil. The demand for chestnuts is on the rise. In France, chestnuts are often used in their dishes, and their consumption is growing." The company offers its chestnuts in containers of various sizes, ranging from 1 kg to 30 kg. <br></p> <p><b>Dried chestnuts</b></p> <p>Starting this year, the company will also market dried chestnuts; a new product that is currently in the testing stage. The goal is for all chestnuts that do not meet the export requirements to be used. "Normally, we would throw away about 150 tonnes, but in this way, we could process them into tasty snacks or even feed them to animals," he concludes.<br></p>