At the moment, the fruit sector in Zaragoza is still immersed in the pome fruit season, with preparations underway for the start of the upcoming stonefruit campaign, which is expected to arrive with a delay of between 5 and 7 days compared to previous years.
Zaragoza's largest fruit cooperative, Cosanse, expects to kick off the cherry harvest between 15 and 20 May with the earliest varieties, with the prospect of a reduction in production volumes of between 25 and 30% due to issues with the settling which are more marked in the earliest varieties; something which, in turn, will lead to better calibres and optimum quality.
The apricot harvest is expected to start in early June with the various white and orange-fleshed varieties. After the problems caused by frost last year, production volumes are expected to grow by around 20 to 30%.
Regarding peaches and nectarines, Cosanse expects a slight increase for peaches and a 20% growth for nectarines due to the better settling. They also report the entry into production of varieties better adapted to consumer tastes. The estimated date for the start of the campaign is currently early July.
As for flat peaches, an increase of around 30% in production volumes is expected, mainly due to the good weather conditions and the entry into production of young plantations.
For plum, they report that, so far, the situation of the production is optimal.
"Besides the problems with cherries, we have fairly good prospects for the production, although it is still to be seen how both the domestic and international markets will react, hoping that there won't be a repeat of last year's situation. We also have yet to see how the season will go for the different production areas of Spain," points out Sergio Alonso, of Cosanse.