Stonefruit production in the Spanish region of Extremadura is likely to start earlier than usual this season, but volumes may well be reduced.
According to producers’ association Afruex, the outlook earlier in the spring was good as rainfall had been adequate without being excessive.
Afruex president Antonio Chavero said: “It is still a bit too early to say, but frosts in the third week of March affected some of the key growing areas in Extremadura. At the moment, producers are in their fields assessing the impact on peach, nectarine and plum crops. We should know more in another two weeks.”
More than half of the production of stonefruit in the south-western Spanish region is given over to plums. Frosts, lack of fruit set, untimely rainfall and the large crop of last season may all bring their influence to bear on the harvest in 2008, warned Chavero. “The weather has not been bad in general, as it has not really rained excessively,” he explained. “But it did rain at exactly the time when bees should have been pollinating the crops. This is not a good sign and it could have an impact. Higher than usual winds have also affected pollination.”
The season for early apricots, peaches and nectarines in the region is expected to kick off around May 20, and large temperature differentials between day and night recordings of 27°C and 3°C respectively have been bringing on noticeably early flowering in the bloom period.
As far as other regions are concerned, output from Andalusia looks to be slightly down on last year and in Valencia the impact of frosts on the crop has been quite widespread. Further north, in the Lerida area, growers’ associations have been reporting scarcity of rainfall.
Some 70 per cent of Extremadura’s stonefruit output is destined for export, with the UK one of the main markets alongside France, Italy and Belgium. The sector in Extremadura has strengthened over the past 10 years, to rival other key growing areas of Spanish stonefruit.
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