The accumulation of a series of adverse circumstances has ended up causing a real collapse in the stonefruit market that seriously threatens the season's profitability, according to the analysis made by the Valencian Association of Farmers (AVA-ASAJA). Prospects were pessimistic from the outset, when a sudden and unusual rise in temperatures in late April and early May forced many producers of plums, peaches, nectarines, apricots, or paraguayos to start harvesting earlier to protect the fruit by storing it in cold rooms.
At the same time, the demand for these types of products from the main European markets, and especially Germany, was particularly weak due to the persistence of the cold; a factor that discourages consumption of these typically early summer fruits. Also, it should not be forgotten that the stonefruit harvest has recorded a 7% growth in Spain and a 11% increase in the whole of Europe.
The coincidence of all these circumstances, now that the campaign is at its peak, has resulted in the paralysis of the markets, because although the demand in the European Union is increasing little by little, the stocks of fruit in the warehouses of the growing areas of the Region of Valencia, Andalusia, Murcia, Aragon or Extremadura are quite large, so the existing supply exceeds the demand and large distribution firms are taking advantage of the situation to push prices down. On average, prices have fallen by around 30% compared this time last year, according to data supplied by the Ministry of Agriculture.
In the meantime, and because of the huge accumulated stocks, the harvest of the fruit that is still in the fields has been delayed. The situation has got to a point where some growers are complaining that certain retailers are violating the purchase agreements they reached and are now refusing to harvest the crops.
At the moment, there is nervousness in the face of a collapse of markets that, if they are not quickly decongested, will seriously compromise the normal development of the fruit-growing campaign and, consequently, the income of thousands of producers.
"The situation is critical," laments the president of AVA-ASAJA, Cristóbal Aguado. The Government and the European Union should consider the possibility of introducing a withdrawal mechanism (as well as other measures) that may help alleviate the market situation.