Favourable weather in Murcia over recent months has led to optimistic forecasts for this year’s stonefruit campaign in the Spanish region, according to leading fresh produce association Asaja Murcia.
In a statement, Asaja Murcia’s general secretary, Alfonso Gálvez Caravaca, said that the prospects for the upcoming campaign were “promising”, with a good level of floration being seen across the region’s production sites.
“Thanks to the good weather conditions that we have seen this year, we have been able to forecast a good campaign, with a high production and excellent quality,” he said.
However, the organisation’s general secretary added a note of caution to the optimistic forecast, stressing that although the season was on the point of beginning, the success of the campaign could still be affected by unforeseen climatic events.
Calling for improved returns from retailers, Mr Gálvez said Murcia’s stonefruit producers were being affected by the economic downturn, which was hitting export prices and in turn affecting growers’ ability to reinvest in their production.
Despite this, Mr Gálvez said Murcian growers were hoping to repeat the success of the 2008 stonefruit campaign, during which exports to European Union countries increased by 10 per cent in volume and 17 per cent in value.
Murcia is one of Spain’s principal stonefruit production regions and production of peaches last year reached 279,553 tonnes, while apricot and plum production totalled 77,000 tonnes and 39,380 tonnes respectively.
