More heavy rainfall two weekends ago and early last week has further disrupted strawberry supply and caused widespread damage in the Spanish growing area of Huelva.
Representatives from the sector estimated damage at some €150 million (£137m) on Monday - double the figure attributed by the regional government just hours earlier.
According to soft-fruit producer-exporters’ association Freshuelva, damages to strawberries are costing growers €100m and the toll for raspberries is €50m. However, some 20 per cent of producers in the area have not been able to access their production to assess damage because of flooding.
Production so far this season is way down on usual levels and Freshuelva estimates that just 17 per cent of the soft-fruit volume usually harvested by this time has actually been gathered.
Producers’ association Asaja-Huelva added that among its membership, strawberry and raspberry losses are running at 50 per cent.
