Cherries in the Valle del Jerte area of Spain were struck by a severe hailstorm in the evening of May 22.
“Agronomists from the regional executive have carried out assessments on the area following the storm which affected a large part of the crop,” Fernando Cano, head of promotion at the regulatory council for the protected geographical indicator for Picota cherries in the area told freshinfo. “About 40 per cent of the cherries across all varieties are so badly damaged as not to be recoverable.”
The forecast for Picota was for a crop almost double last year's levels, but now that figure has been revised downwards to be more in line with the volume produced last season. “Last year certified volumes reached 5.5 million kilos and we are expecting this year to have some four to five million kilos,” said Cano.
The Picota harvest is scheduled to begin a little later than usual around June 10-15 and will last for some three weeks. “The start is a little later than usual, but we had very good conditions in the bloom period at fruit set so the crop was very large,” said Cano. “Without the later start and such high volumes the effects of the hail would have been much more devastating. As it is, we hope to be able to export roughly the same volume as last year.”
Cano added that other varieties had not been spared to the same extent as Picota and earlier types have been decimated, with up to 90 per cent of production lost.
Other crops and other areas have also suffered to a lesser degree, for example Castille La Mancha and Castille Leon and Andalusia. Grower groups assess damage to be worth some €300 million across all sectors including olives and viticulture.
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