Canary Islands tomato growers escaped last week’s gale-force winds unscathed and are taking advantage of low availability of mainland Spanish fruit on export markets and replenished reservoirs.
Roberto Goiriz, spokesman for grower-exporters’ association Fedex on Gran Canaria, told freshinfo: “Through sheer luck, the hurricane-like winds last week have not affected tomato and cucumber production. We were expecting it but it hasn’t happened. A lot of rain did fall, however and the good news is that the reservoirs are all full again and we will have enough water for the next two to three years. They haven’t been this full in 10 years.”
He added that the season has improved since its start in October against a background of low pricing. “We are about two to three per cent ahead of last season on volume and should have enough fruit to last until March. Cold weather in Spain and Morocco has helped us by lifting prices which is giving us some relief.”
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