The PGI Cireres de la Muntanya d'Alacant, created in 1991, is experiencing a campaign to forget after losing 99% to 100% of its harvest.
In the last four years, the cherries of Les Valls de la Marina Alta have been affected by the weather, which has caused a notable decrease in production due to pollination and cracking issues. The production achieved in 2018 was standard and producers were able to collect 700,000 kilograms in the area of Cireres de la Muntanya d'Alacant COOP CV. In 2019, however, they were only able to harvest some 200,000 kilograms and in 2020, the volume collected fell to 28,000. In 2021, they harvested 107,000 kg, but the forecast for 2022 is that nearly all of the production will be lost..
The affected municipalities have asked the State government to declare that the area has been seriously affected by a civil protection emergency. That is, to declare a state of disaster for the area.
They also asked the agricultural institutions and, in particular, the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development, Climate Emergency, and Ecological Transition to take measures to protect and promote this cherry production and to help overcome the social and agricultural emergency that neighbors and farmers have been experiencing for four consecutive years.
To top it off, the cherry sector is unable to secure the harvest due to the high cost of insurance, which stands at 0.35-0.50 euro per kilo. Farmers can only ensure their harvest against the rains, so the production isn't covered when it's affected by flower setting or other adverse effects.
Crops are not insured and, when there are several seasons in which the crops have problems, as has happened now, producers abandon their crops. If there are no measures to mitigate the losses, we forecast that more than 45% of the crops will be abandoned in the coming years.
Source: levante-emv.com