The Camp Mallorquí cooperative tries to buy Algarroba: "We don't want it to end up like Agama"

PalmThe Camp Mallorquina cooperative has presented an offer to acquire Carob SA, a company dedicated to the production of carob gum and currently in pre-insolvency proceedings. The proposal has already been conveyed to both shareholders and the court overseeing the process and includes the continuity of agricultural activity and the maintenance of the more than twenty affected jobs. Miquel Gual, president of the cooperative, has assured that they "will maintain the company as we know it." "We don't want it to end up like "}Agama, where a large brand like Damm buys it to speculate and not to keep the sector alive.

In this regard, he lamented that the Balearic industry is in crisis and constantly losing sectors and that their purchase option is not only to

The operation comes at a key moment for the company's future, with the resolution of the proceedings scheduled before April 15. The cooperative argues that its proposal not only addresses the company's liabilities but also incorporates a social dimension linked to maintaining the island's agri-food sector. In fact, the president of the cooperative explained to el ARA Balears that their idea is to "maintain both the model and the entire workforce."

In parallel, the initiative is part of a broader strategy to strengthen the carob sector in Mallorca. Camp Mallorquina annually collects carobs from both its members and other producers, processes the carobs, and markets the product internationally. The acquisition of Carob would allow the completion of the production process with the direct elaboration of carob gum, a thickener with high external demand.

The proposal has been positively valued by the Ministry of Agriculture, which particularly highlights the commitment to maintain productive activity. The Government has been following the operation since its inception and does not rule out providing support through financing instruments if it ultimately prospers. In fact, members of the cooperative have already met on several occasions with the minister, Joan Simonet, who has pledged to help them if the courts ultimately accept their offer.

Carob SA, founded in 1976, is a company with a long track record in the manufacture and distribution of carob gum. In 1996, it expanded its facilities with a new plant in Marratxí, which allowed it to control all phases of production. Furthermore, it has a warehouse in Baltimore, in the United States, to strengthen international distribution.

A sector in crisis?

Regarding the market, the sector is dragging a price drop recorded in 2025, with values having retreated to levels from eight years ago. This fall comes after an exceptional period marked by the so-called boom of the carob, when strong international demand –especially from the food and cosmetic industry, which uses carob gum as a thickener– rocketed its price to historical highs close to two euros per kilo.

This increase encouraged intensive harvesting and the incorporation of new supply to the market, a fact that, over time, has contributed to a correction in prices. Despite this context of volatility, the cooperative foresees a progressive stabilization in the next two years, with a trend towards more balanced values that allow for the sector's viability without repeating recent speculative peaks.

A model similar to the one they offered for Agama

The Camp Mallorquí proposal is similar to the one that was intended to be made with Agama to prevent the factory's closure and the death of Mallorca's dairy sector. The workers, in this case, would not be directly involved in the cooperative, as was intended with Agama. But the proposal was the same, that people from the countryside acquire the brand to produce and market the local product of the Balearic Islands and thus prevent tourism and urban development from devouring another part of the Balearic primary sector.

In fact, it was also the same Damm group, owner of both Agama and Laccao, that offered both the brand and 100% of the industrial assets to the farmers and workers to thus prevent the factory's closure and the disappearance of the brand.