80,000 hectares lost in Spain due to storms

Bad weather is hitting different regions of Spain, affecting both stone fruit, which still points to a smooth campaign, and melon production, which remains behind schedule
granizo comunidad valenciana

Near 80,000 hectares of farmland have been damaged by the storms during the first days of May, which affected the entire Spanish mainland, with particular impact in the Ebro Valley (Aragón, Navarra and La Rioja), Castilla-La Mancha and Murcia.

The figures, released on Tuesday by Agroseguro, the national insurance company, are still provisional, as insured farmers will be submitting their damage reports this week, once they are able to access their plots following the severe weather over the past weekend.

Storms—and especially hail—are commonly associated with damage in spring and summer, but 2025 is proving particularly intense, with early episodes in April and May, following a wet autumn and winter. Persistent rainfall is now affecting crops in a good stage of development, such as arable crops, particularly winter cereals.

Damage by region

In Aragón, damage has reached 27,000 hectares, partly due to hailstorms during the first weekend of May. The most affected area stretches from northern Teruel province to the Monegros region in Huesca, including the counties of Zaragoza, Daroca and La Almunia, in the province of Zaragoza.
During the second weekend, hailstorms also hit Tauste, Boquiñeni and Gallur (Zaragoza); Gurrea de Gállego and Alcalá de Gurrea (Huesca), as well as several areas in the La Jacetania region.

Castilla-La Mancha

In Castilla-La Mancha, losses have reached 34,000 hectares of arable crops, wine grapes, fruit trees, almond trees, and vegetables across Albacete, Toledo and Ciudad Real during the first weekend. In the second week, new storms hit the province of Albacete again, affecting the same crops as well as pistachios.

Comunidad Valenciana

In the Valencian Community (7,000 hectares), damage has been reported in the Vall d’Albaida region, mainly in fruit trees, citrus and persimmons in the towns of Bélgida, Albaida, Otos, Pobla del Duc, Ontinyent and El Palomar.

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Between May 8 and 10, hailstorms were particularly intense, affecting citrus fruits, persimmons, fruit trees and vegetables in areas such as Losa del Obispo, Villar de Arzobispo, Casinos, Pedralba, Chulilla, Bugarra, Gestalgar and Ribarroja de Turia, as well as vineyards in the Utiel-Requena region.

Navarra and La Rioja

In Navarra and La Rioja 3,200 hectares have been reported as damaged, with losses in the vineyards of Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Alta, particularly in Aldeanueva de Ebro, as well as in arable and fruit crops in Rioja Baja.

Murcia

In Murcia, damage has been estimated at 10,000 hectares, with the most severe impact occurring between May 8 and 10. The storms affected fruit trees, citrus, olive trees, almonds and vegetables in areas such as Mula, Jumilla and Yecla.

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