The general director of Afrucat, Manel Simon, the general director for Food, Quality and Agro-food Industries of the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food (DARP), Carmel Mòdol, and the director of the Territorial Services of the DARP in Lleida, Ferran de Noguera, have presented the peach and nectarine harvest prospects for Catalonia. These point to a 17% drop in the production, which will amount to 471,430 tonnes. Round peaches will record a 13% drop (114,250 tonnes); flat peaches will see production drop by 18% (127,560 tonnes); the nectarine production will be 19% smaller (207,310 tonnes) and the pavia production will fall by 12% (22,310 tonnes).
This productive decline is the result of a number of factors, namely a scarce, irregular and long flowering, followed by problems with the fruit setting. The production will also be reduced by the impact of the frosts recorded in late February and March (especially on the early varieties), and the hailstorms of April and May.
In Lleida, the early varieties will be the only ones affected, while in Tarragona and Barcelona all varieties will be hit, even though the early varieties are the most affected.
Lastly, it must be taken into account that the current forecast is being compared to that of the 2017 campaign, which was marked by a very high production volume.
Given the lower amount of fruit per tree, larger calibres are expected. The campaign is expected to kick off about 8-10 days later than last year.
In terms of trends, we can highlight the 2% drop in the acreage devoted to peaches and nectarines. Flat nectarines have seen the greatest drop in the acreage, while that devoted to round peaches has increased.