The strawberry campaign has recovered from the slump caused by the rains and high humidity levels of February. "We all had to throw away a large amount of fruit due to rot, which affected not only the ripe fruit but also the green one that was to follow," says Simone Pierini from Agronom Berries, Spain.
The heavy rains last month took a toll on the plants at a time when they were laden with fruit that had grown rapidly due to the exceptionally warm temperatures in January in Andalusia, where, according to Aemet, the average temperature stood 3 degrees Celsius above the norm, making it the warmest since 1961.
"The production has recovered quite well; however, last week, there was still a lower supply. Yet the markets seem oblivious to this, as the prices of Spanish strawberries have dropped."
"This drop in production has coincided with a notable presence of Italian fruit in European supermarkets, as they have managed to obtain it for cheaper prices than Spanish strawberries. But that doesn't fully explain the situation in the domestic market because the volume from Huelva hasn't been that large; we think that the bad weather in the north of Spain may have had an impact on consumption, and it remains to be seen how the situation will develop in the coming days."
"The truth is that there are more productions in the market, and other factors are also having an impact on the development of the campaign, and although everyone has their own commercial channels and infrastructure and staff allocations, all the companies in Huelva are currently affected, to different extents, by the same market trends."
"Regarding the weather, more rains have been forecast. On the one hand, this is good because we cannot forget that we need water, but on the other hand, it is worrying because we have just cleared the fields of rot and would prefer not to have to deal with this problem again," says Simone, producer of the strawberry varieties of Agronom Berries and marketer in the province of the nursery plants from Poland.
"So far, my experience as a producer has been very positive, and over the last two years, there has been an increase in the sale of strawberry plants from Poland in Huelva. Producers are seeing good results with plants that arrive in great condition thanks to the climatic conditions in Poland, which facilitate proper development. Next year, I'm hoping for a repeat of this success and a chance to expand the portfolio of varieties marketed in Spain," says Simone at the Agronom Berries warehouse in Rociana del Condado.
"As for the production, there are still two and a half months of the campaign ahead, which are also the ones with the largest volumes, and we hope that despite the delays at the start caused by the rains and this recent price drop, the situation will improve and the sector will once again achieve good results."
For more information:
Agronom Berries Spain
Moguer, Huelva, Spain
Tel.: +34 697 64 22 12
https://agronomberriesspain.es