According to the Agricultural and Food Cooperatives' first estimates of the Spanish stone fruit campaign, Spain will produce 1,099,284 tons of stone fruits this year, the lowest volume in the last decade and 29.43% lower than the 1,557,094 tons achieved in 2021.
Of the total volume, 323,039 tons correspond to nectarine (-27.84% compared to 2021); 207,288 tons to peach (-25.96%); 184,610 tons to donut peaches (-18.57%); 181,904 tons to pavia (-46.78%); 143,652 tons to plum (-14.30%) and 58,791 tons to apricot (-37.36%).
This sharp decline is due to the negative effects of frost, rain, and hail in many production areas this spring, especially during the month of April, when the trees were already in bloom or with incipient fruits.
According to the forecast, Aragon is the producing region that will have the biggest decrease in production (-62.85%) in 2022, as it will only produce 161,756 tons.
It is followed by Catalonia, with a 51.53% decrease (170,770 tons); Valencia (-31.46%, 18,520 tons); Castile-La Mancha (-20.92%, 31,220 tons) and Extremadura (-0.72%, 225,900 tons).
The only two autonomous communities that expect an increase in volume are Murcia and Andalusia; the first, with the highest regional production (378,600 tons, +4.36%), and the second, with a forecast of 78,542 tons (+2.09%).
By product, the Region of Murcia will lead the Spanish production of donut peaches with 100,000 tons, +38.89% compared to the 2021 campaign, nectarine (95,000 tons, +6.74%), peach (73,000 tons, -61.43%), and apricot (40,000 tons, -16.67%).
Despite expecting to have a 67.70% drop in production, Aragon will lead the production of pavia with 61,354 tons. Meanwhile, Extremadura will once again lead plum production with 98,000 tons (-0.71%).
The largest falls by product and region correspond to apricot in Aragon, which will fall from 20,069 to 2,988 tons (-85.11%), and Castilla-La Mancha's donut peach (400 tons, -73.33%) and plum production (600 tons, -70.00%).
According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food (MAP), the price in the field of the first consignments of yellow meat peach in this campaign was 15 cents/kilo, which is lower than 22 cents per kilo achieved by the first batches in 2021.
The first apricots were paid at 13 cents/kg (99.81 cents/kg in the first week of the 2021 campaign), while the yellow meat nectarine was paid at 14.57 cents/kg (23.6 cents/kg a year ago).
Source: lavanguardia.com