Of these, 23 are divided up amongst nectarines, peaches and flat peaches, and the other 30 are planted with new grape varieties, including the black grape Arra 32 and the white grape Arra 30, in addition to Sweet Glove and Alison.
The company has carried out a strong, important transformation, both in the fields and in the warehouse. “Last year we moved to a new preparation centre, which, at present, we are exclusively using for preparing stone fruit; and this year our commitment is more linked to productions,” the Manager, Antonio Caballero explains.
Regarding the development of the current stone fruit campaign, the executive explains that “we thought that the season was going to start with a two-week delay; however, the recent good weather makes it look like we will only be a week later than the previous campaign. In fact, we are going to start with small volumes in week 16.
However, the weather has already shown its less friendly side and has caused around 30% of losses in apricots in the Cieza, Abarán and Archena region. “First, we had more intensely cold weather than normal, and in mid-March the temperatures reached over 30 degrees and caused the apricot blossoms to fall. There was also some minor damage to nectarines, but nothing significant in comparison to the first estimates of losses in apricots.”
The campaign’s expectations seem to be positive. “We feel that the European market is eager for Spanish stone fruit. The pity is that we realised too late that the grubbing out processes of extra-early fruit carried out 8 years ago were possibly too far-reaching and not enough volume was replaced, meaning that now there could be more demand than supply during these weeks,” the executive claims.
There were two reasons behind the grubbing out processes: the weather was very bad in Europe, and in Murcia it was too hot and the fruit remained in the warehouses for several weeks. “Additionally, insurance cover was and continues to be more and more difficult every day and if there are losses one year, the following year, they only guarantee a third of the harvest. That early fruit was in areas with frosts and all of this resulted in excessive grubbing out,” Caballero concludes.
