Rainfall throughout most of October in eastern and south-eastern Spain has seriously hindered the citrus harvest and brought mixed fortunes to other crops.

The downpours in the Valencia and Murcia regions have served to increase fruit size, but have interrupted the citrus harvest. According to grower groups, the persistent rainfall and prevailing damp conditions have made the start of the season very difficult for the early varieties, which are falling prey to water spot.

Alfonso Gálvez Caravaca, secretary general of producers’ association Asaja Murcia, said: “In general, the rainfall has been good for citrus and vegetable crops, but it has not allowed for a swift harvest in citrus plantations and this has led to a slowdown in the Campo de Cartagena area, which clearly is not very beneficial to the sector in Murcia.”

At exporter Agriveg, Julien Taratay confirms that exports from Valencia and Almeria, as well as Murcia, have been affected. He said: “The delay to the citrus harvest has meant prices have gone up. We always have some rain in September and October, but this has really been too much.”

And in Valencia, leader of growers’ association Ava-Asaja, Cristobal Aguado, pictured, warned of the impact on clementine quality: “We are asking growers, until conditions improve and their fields dry out, to reduce their activity in the plantations. It would be a very grave error to ignore this problem and continue exporting fruit in poor condition to Europe, especially as we are at the beginning of the season.”

Taratay added that the harvest of some vegetable lines in Almeria has been affected, particularly tomato and courgette, although conditions have now improved.

And in Huelva, in south-western Spain, Freshuelva president José Manuel Romero said the rainfall has been beneficial for strawberry production. He said: “The rains are the best thing that could have happened for soft-fruit growers as what we need are low temperatures and rain so that plants can develop without any problems.”

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