Producers in Spain’s Murcia region have reported damage to stonefruit, citrus and grape crops across several provinces, following heavy hailstone showers over recent days.
According to regional growers’ association Asaja Murcia, the hailstones, which affected the south-eastern corner of Spain during the weekend, damaged grapes and citrus in the provinces of Alhama and Librilla, as well as nectarines, peaches, apricots and plums in Cieza, Blanca and Abarán.
In a statement, Asaja Murcia general secretary Alfonso Gálvez Caravaca said that growers in the region were hopeful that the weather over the coming days would not endanger the stonefruit campaign, which was also being threatened by strong winds sweeping through the region.
However, in spite of this apparent setback to the stonefruit season, leading Murcia-based export consortium Hortiberia has said it is “optimistic” for the prospects for the region’s summer fruit and vegetable campaign.
The group’s managing director, Fermín Sánchez Navarro, said that expectations for the coming campaign remained “positive”, with the group confident of achieving “good production figures, along with high quality”.
But, Mr Sánchez urged Murcia’s fruit and vegetable producers and marketers to “combine their efforts and plan production in an ordered manner” with the aim of avoiding an oversupply of products or the loss of sales.
