The strawberry contact group, made up of sectoral and administrative representatives from France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal, will hold an online meeting on Monday, May 9, to analyze the current campaign in the four countries and to assess the current situation in the Community market.
The Spanish Association of Producers and Exporters of Strawberry of Huelva, Freshuelva, which represents 95% of this province's berry production, will present its 2021/2022 campaign data. According to this data, there are a total of 11,740 hectares devoted to berry production this year, i.e. only 0.95% more than the 11,630 hectares used in the past year. The area of strawberries increased by 1% and the area devoted to blueberries by 6.7%, Meanwhile, the area devoted to raspberries decreased by more than 8% and the area of blackberries decreased by 4%.
The contact group will also analyze the market situation, which in the current context is marked by, among other things, the continuous increase in costs. Freshuelva, an association integrated into FEPEX, estimated that fertilizer costs in berry production have increased by 150%, water costs by 33%, the cost of plastics by 46%, the diesel used by tractors by 73%, and the cost of electricity by 270%, according to figures for the month of December.
Source: fepex.es