As the citrus campaign starts in September the COPAL will hire 1,420 workers in the agricultural sector. The cooperative from Algemesí expects to harvest more than 85,000 tons of fruit this year, surpassing the volume achieved last year. In addition, this year they will also harvest early pomegranates, increasing their fruit supply.
The citrus industry has always been an engine for the region of La Ribera and the rest of the country. In fact, Spain is the leading exporter in the world and the fifth biggest exporter in terms of production. Therefore, September, which brings about the collection campaign, is a highly anticipated moment for agricultural workers. The citrus campaign is relatively long as it will end around June next year. In it, COPAL will employ 1,420 workers in the sector, which will be distributed as follows: 620 dedicated to the collection of fruits and 800 as warehouse personnel. The first variety to be harvested will be the extra early satsuma, followed by the early pomegranates (which are a novelty). Then, at the end of September, persimmon and rice will be collected, followed by the other varieties of oranges.
The cooperative is optimistic at the start of the campaign, even though they haven't had the best weather conditions: "Despite the drought this year, which has caused the fruit to have a calibre that is smaller than the one achieved last season, we are optimistic about the quality of the fruit and hope that a rainy September allows us to obtain larger sizes," sources from Copal said.
As they pray for rain in the region, the cooperative has made forecasts based on the 85,000 tons they produced last year. A figure they expect to exceed throughout 2016 and 2017.
Last season collection was based mainly in citrus production, which amounted to 75,200 tons (about 90% of the total). Persimmon, which is booming among farmers in the la Ribera, was the second most important fruit in volume with 7,500 tons. Citrus and persimmons represent the bulk of the production of the cooperative, as together, both crops amounted to 82,000 tons. Stone fruits are far behind with 690 tons. Last year, pomegranates totalled 515 tons, and a diverse group of other fruits and vegetable groups barely amounted to 15 tons. Finally, the Copal also produced 1,100 tons of rice.
Source: levante-emv.com