During the season ended last month, tonnage reached just 1,800 compared to 5,600 in 1992-93.

Capsicum from the area has protected denomination of origin status. The PDO administrators were reported by the Spanish press attributing the decline to: 'persistent disease, water shortage and intense competition with production from northern Africa.' Producers are giving up cultivating the product in the face of descending prices that have fallen below the cost of production and its export is also in decline.