A storm accompanied by hail caused the production of table grapes to be affected in Alicante, in the production areas of Monforte del Cid. The storm has not affected everyone equally. While some producers have not suffered any damage or have only recorded minor issues, others have lost everything. At least six plantations have been completely destroyed.
The precipitation fell with great force in a short period of time, with almost 50 litres per square metre in just half an hour. Moreover, the rains were accompanied by hail and strong winds that knocked greenhouses down with the productions inside.
"The weather hasn't affected us too much because we have modern infrastructures with plastic resistant to these adversities," explains Miriam Cutillas, of the sales department of the company Uvasdoce. "However, this entails a setback in a campaign that, so far, had been idyllic. Never before had we seen such a good campaign start in terms of fruit quality and market behaviour. With storms like this, sales are brought to a halt and programs are disrupted. Now we will have to wait and see how the fruit reacts in the coming days, taking into account the high temperatures and humidity. It seems that everything was too good to be true."
One of the most affected farms, located on the road to San Vicente, has not had as much luck, as it has been completely destroyed by the storm just three weeks before the start of the harvest of the Carlita, a new and high quality grape variety. Its 50,000 square metres of greenhouses have been knocked down along with its 5,000 three-year-old vines and the 300,000 kilos of fruit expected to be harvested, according to the local newspaper diarioinformacion.com.
800 hectares of fruit trees affected in Murcia
The same storm also took a toll in Murcia, where it is estimated that up to 800 hectares of fruit trees have been damaged, mainly in Cieza, where products such as Paraguayo peaches and red peaches have been damaged.
"The damage to stone fruit has been limited, given that the campaign is practically finished and this area focuses more on early fruit," says APOEXPA president Joaquín Gómez.
Some table grape farms have been affected in Lorca, but Joaquín Gómez says that "most productions in Murcia are protected with anti-hail meshes, so this storm will not have a negative impact on the overall production and the campaign, which is developing very satisfactorily."