Weeks of persistent rains in the Spanish province of Murcia have given way to warmer temperatures and drier conditions allowing growers to harvest and replant vegetable and salad crops. Temperatures have risen to an average 8°C at night and up to 15°C during the day.

'A lot of product has been damaged, but at least we can plant again,' said Manuel Soler, president of the Murcia federation of agriculture co-operatives, Fecoam. 'We should get back to normal in eight to 10 days time if the weather continues like this.' The crops which have been most affected are iceberg, artichoke, cauliflower and broccoli. Rainfall had made fields inaccessible while frost damage and botrytis rendered a lot of product unsaleable.